Tale of a Legend
by GerdenGerudo
Summary: No hero is born as one, and that is no different for a certain mute we all know and love. This is how a shy Goat Herder left her village. How two people who hated each other became friends. How a kingdom was saved by a cold darkness. And how destinies intertwined with one another. This is the Tale of a Legend. Bad summary is bad. T to be safe.
1. The Hour of Twilight

Tale of a Legend

Summary: No hero is born as one, and that is no different for a certain mute we all know and love. This is how a shy Goat Herder left her village. How two people who hated each other became friends. How a kingdom was saved by a cold darkness. And how destinies intertwined with one another. This is the Tale of a Legend.

Gery: Yessss, I know I'm writing, like, three Fanfics at once, but I'm having some really bad case of Writer's Block for Bonded Triforce, and I have no idea when the next chapter for that will be out, but whatever! I was planning to write this after I finished BT, but it seems my mind doesn't want that to happen, so here ya go; the prequel to Silent Courage. Yes I know the title is lame, gimme a break. Anyway, hope you had a nice Hallowe'en and had/have a nice Thanksgiving. Sorry I didn't do any specials this year XP Been really busy with school and stuff

Nura: *whispering* And she was playing Pokémon Y and Terraria a lot

Gery: Shush

Adam: Gery doesn't own anything, only her OCs

Alex: And some stupid games

Gery: *sticks tongue out* Those games are awesome, so blah! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Hour of Twilight

She walked along the cold stone floor, looking around with confusion. Where was she? How did she get here? Nothing about this place was familiar, and it made her nervous. Gulping, she continued on going straight. Somehow, it seemed she knew where she was going. The corridor she was walking down suddenly swirled and vanished, leaving her just outside some double-doors. She looked up and saw the sky was tinted orange, so dusk was going to fall soon.

With nowhere else to go, she walked to the left and saw some stairs. Hoping to find some help, she ran up them and pushed open another door. She got it big enough so she could squeeze through and saw a large room with pillars, a long red carpet that stretched on to a large throne, and above the throne was a strange but familiar symbol. Three triangles were arranged to make a pyramid and statues of three women were each connected to one.

She felt her left hand grow warm and she looked down, seeing the same mark, aside from the women. That would explain why it's familiar. A low laugh made her jump and look at the throne, where a tall man with dark skin, orange hair and black armour sat. He smirked at her and stood, walking down the dozen or so steps to the fancy chair. She instinctively backed up, shivering slightly under his poison-yellow eyed gaze. She was barely as tall as his gut.

The man looked down at her, unimpressed as he picked her up by her neck. "Pathetic. You're really the next?" he tossed her into a pillar, making her cry out in pain when she hit. "You couldn't possibly be. The Goddesses must be mistaken. You're nothing but an outcast, a magic-less Hylian living among a Hyrulian village. But I won't complain. I will kill you easily," he put a heavy boot onto the side of her head, making her strain out a groan when he pushed down.

Thankfully, before he could kill her, a loud crash of thunder woke her up.

With a gasp, she sat up and ungracefully fell out of bed onto her back. She blinked up at the roof of her house, trying to recall what happened in the dream, but like many other dreams it slipped from her mind. Well that's fantastic. She rolled her eyes and got up, stretching her arms over her head and seeing the spring rain falling outside. With a smile, she pushed the cloth curtain aside and stuck her head out, closing her eyes as it wet her hair.

This wasn't the first time she had a nightmare. They had happened constantly since she turned seventeen the winter before, and it was more annoying than anything. 'Oh well,' she thought, bringing her head in and closing the curtain. 'Might as well get ready for the day.'

She climbed down the ladder to her bed and jumped the last two steps, somehow managing to stumble from the short drop.

She changed from her sleeping shirt and shorts into her usual Ordonian clothes; a tan shirt with a single green sleeve, brown breeches, and a blue wrap-around on her waste, which was held in place by a red leather strap. Once dressed, she went outside and jumped off the deck of her tree house, slipping in a puddle and falling back. Laughing to herself, she got up and turned to a large, reddish-brown mare with a white mane and tail, who was nickering.

'Yeah, you love watchin' me slip, don't ya, 'Pona?' she thought, patting down the work horse's nose. Epona shook her mane and nudged her in the stomach, making her laugh. 'Love ya too, buddy.'

Finding that Epona's water bucket was empty, she picked it up and headed to the Spirit Spring to refill it. The sun hadn't risen wet, so it was a bit chilly in the spring morning. She yawned loudly, she was never up this early if she could help it. She enjoyed sleeping in, but she knew she couldn't rest after having a nightmare. It was a curse.

After refilling the bucket, the girl glanced at her reflection. What that man said in her dream struck her a bit, as pointing out her differences usually did. She looked enough like the rest of her village, in her clothing style and with her dirty blonde hair and sea blue eyes, but it didn't take long to figure out what made her out-of-place in the village, possibly even the rest of Hyrule.

As far as she knew, she had never met (or at least remembered) another Hylian, a rare race in the Kingdom with pointed ears and a natural knack for magic. She failed in the magic department, but that was also due to the fear of it. With no one to teach her, she wouldn't be able to control it, but her magic was barely there, so holding it in held no consequences. Another root to the fear is due to magic being the cause of her parents deaths, or so it is assumed. That certainly didn't help at all.

She was taken out of her musings when the sun reflected off the water, shining in her eyes and making her stumble back and trip, landing with a splash and finding Epona's bucket on her head.

With an annoyed sigh, she got up and quickly filled the bucket again before heading back, slowed by the heavy water. Many of it splashed out on her way back, but Epona didn't seem to care, since she practically dove for the water. Patting her shoulder, she went back into her tree house to dry off.

That was the plan anyway, she was stopped by a knock on her door.

Having a hunch, she wasn't surprised when Fado, the head worker of the Ranch, stood there, looking a bit sheepish. "Howdy, Link. I hope I ain't bein' a bother, but could you come and help with the goats later? They still ain't listenin' to me."

She nodded with a smile and Fado sighed in relief. "Thanks, Bud, they listen more to you than anyone. I 'spect you after noon, if ya don't mind."

Giving a thumb's up, Link watched him go and closed the door, sighing and slumping down on it slightly. This was the fourth time Fado had asked for help in a week. It was odd. He was good to the goats, and they liked him, but lately they've been a bother and only Link could herd them into their paddocks. It was almost like they could sense something wrong. When she thought about it, a lot of the animals were acting weird. Sometimes the forest would seem too quiet to be normal, and the monkeys! Goddesses, the monkeys were becoming plain pests! Before they would run at the sight of any human, but now they constantly raided the village. Well, maybe 'raided' was a bit strong, but they were really big pests. Sometimes they would bother the goats, or they would destroy the pumpkins and wheat, they even stole every now and then. To Link, it almost seemed like they were trying to get their attention, but she shook her head at the silly thought. Animals weren't _that_ smart, after all. Except Epona. Epona was freakishly smart.

When the monkeys came, she would try to follow them out into the woods, but monsters started to appear during the late winter and it was dangerous without a weapon. And Link, being the clumsy oaf she is, had broken her wooden practice sword the last time when she was trying to chase a monkey. It was dark! How was she supposed to know that that tree wasn't a Deku Baba or something? Everything looked like it was our to kill her then.

"Link?" she jumped when there was a knock on the door and she turned her head, smiling when Ilia, her sister in all but blood, opened the door. "Hey Link, I was wondering if you were here or not. I passed Fado on the way here and I assumed he asked for help at the ranch again." Link nodded. "Knew it. Well I guess it's some extra Rupees. You'll need them for when you go to Castle Town."

At the mention of the town, Link's eyes slightly glazed over. She had never been there, but she heard many stories from Rusl about the busy city. There were so many sights and smells than Ordon, and going there at midday was difficult for a first-timer, but she couldn't help but be curious. She wanted to see more of Hyrule, and most Ordonians left at eighteen, when they were old enough to get a real job. She wasn't sure what she could do, but she was sure even _she_ could find work somewhere.

"Come on, we should go enjoy the day while we still can," Ilia waved her hand in front of Link's face, waking her up from her daydream. They left the tree house and headed off toward the woods, being sure not to go too far and attract monsters. "Remember all the times we've gone here and gotten in trouble?"

Link nodded. Yes, she could remember all their misadventures. All the thrill, fear and cuts they got from wandering off. Some memories were best left as a distant thought, forgotten over the years, but most of them were laughable now that they were out of them. Even if they did get in trouble by Ilia's dad, Mayor Bo, or Link's guardian, Rusl the blacksmith.

As they walked through the forest, the sun shining through wherever there were no leaves to block it, they 'talked' about silly little things that held no meaning, or just walked in silence and enjoyed the nature. There was so little to really see that they hadn't already explored, but that didn't mean new things couldn't come in old places. Like the spider web that Link walked through, or the fresh puddles from the storm the night before. This was why Link loved coming to the forest, it had different things to see every day.

"Do you wonder if Rusl will let you got to Hyrule Castle Town with him?" Ilia asked. "I know he wants you to go as badly as you do. Do you think he might pull some strings to get you to go with him when he delivers the sword in a few days?"

Link shrugged, but hoped. The yearly tribute to the castle was an important, long trip that Rusl took every year. He was the best fighter in Ordon, once a solder of Hyrule before he settled down and became a blacksmith, and no one was too worried about him going on his own. Only this year he had something more on his mind than a silly sword. It was very likely he would even ask one of the other adults to take the sword. The reason behind it was because his wife, Uli, was close to birthing his second child.

Of course the village was thrilled. They had had trouble having children before, so it was only natural everyone was happy for them. Plus Link couldn't wait to have another kid she could consider a sibling.

"...Do you wish he'll ask you?" Link tilted her head slightly. Her first thought was; 'Yes! Of course!' But did she really want to? Yes she wanted to see more of Hyrule, but was she ready? She might be only a year away from being considered an adult, but she was still young. And Rusl warned her that not many there have seen a full Hylian in years, some not even in their life-time. She would have to be prepared for the stares she would get, and for someone so small and people-shy, it seemed overwhelming.

After a minute, she just shrugged. Not knowing how to respond otherwise. Ilia nodded slowly, looking ahead at the tunnel that lead further into the woods; where the monsters were. If they squinted, they could see silhouettes move in the shadows and beady red eyes gleam. Keese, small bat-like creatures with a powerful bite, were a normal sight among that cave, but what lay beyond it was the true oddness. Bokoblins, bluish-purple humanoid creatures with long necks, large bellies and small faces, roamed the forest, attacking any traveler foolish enough to enter. They all wielded heavy, wooden clubs that could crush a skull with ease. They were a bit dumb, but if they caught you off-guard, you could be in trouble.

Link learned that the hard way.

Her ears twitched and she turned her head to the left, seeing a clearing with an old shack. The clearing lead to Hyrule Field, a large expanse of land that was divided into several provinces alone. Link had snuck there a few times, each time finding something new and exciting. But she couldn't go much further than she had, or she would be missed.

The person who lived in the cottage was a kind but odd man named Coro. He soled lanterns and lantern oil, and would gladly give a traveler something to eat (his cooking skills were very poor, though). But he could also run your wallet dry by selling oil for a high price after giving away a free lantern. 'Salesmen Strategy' he called it. Link and Ilia weren't so sure.

With nowhere else to go from there, the two headed back to the village, passing by another spirit spring that belonged to Faron, the protector of the Province. No one had ever seen him, but his presence wasn't forgotten. There was a certain power about the waters in his spring- a power no one could describe. The same went for Ordona's Spring near the village.

Link's thoughts were interrupted when her left hand grew warm. She halted in her steps and looked at the back of her hand, frowning in confusion when her birthmark started to glow. It had been doing that a lot lately, glowing at random moments or becoming warm at others, but never at the same time. They had been about as frequent as the nightmares, but seemed to hold more meaning. Link didn't understand why it would glow, no one did, so she just shrugged it off and dropped her hand into her pocket, trotting to catch up with Ilia, who was waiting at the other side of the bridge.

There were many mysteries regarding Hyrule. This just happened to be one of them.

When they got back to Ordon, Ilia waved goodbye to Link, who was heading to the ranch to help out Fado. She grabbed Epona's reigns and lead her through the village, nodding to some of the villagers who were out. The kids were off playing somewhere, probably around the water, and she could see Rusl and Uli's son, Colin, helping Rusl carry some wood into their house.

"Ah, Link. Off to the ranch, I see," Rusl smiled as she stopped by his house. "Make sure Fado doesn't overwork you, I need your help later to gather more wood. We're burning through it fast lately, due to the cold weather."

"Hi Link, how have you been?" Colin asked, trying to look around the bundle of sticks he held. He had sun blonde hair and sky blue eyes like his mother, while gaining the height of his father. Seriously, he was already taller than Link, and he was just ten! Granted Link was only four feet and eleven inches, but most of the kids were still a little shorter than her. In a few years maybe not, but she didn't bother to think about that.

Smiling, Link gave a thumb's up and turned her gaze to Uli, smiling worriedly. Uli laughed when she saw the look and stood up, rubbing circles on her swollen stomach. "Oh Link, stop worrying about me. You're almost as bad as Rusl," she smiled at him. He chuckled.

"Can't blame me, I'm the protective father, after all," he joked, setting the wood down beside the house. "Damn, that hole is getting bigger," he muttered, patting the soft dirt near the house. "I'll have to fix it soon, or else racoons could get in."

"Can I help?" Colin asked, putting his pile of wood down. He was always eager to help his dad with work. It made Link happy to see the shy boy take interest in crafting. He wasn't much of a fighter, like most boys his age wanted to be, and she liked how different he was. Heck, she was different than other girls. She _wanted_ to learn how to fight with a sword ever since she was little. In some ways, it was almost like she and Colin traded places. And she wouldn't have it any other way. Colin was like a little brother to her, like Ilia was a little sister. She liked the other kids, but she loved Colin and Ilia.

"Sure, once I get back from Hyrule I'll show you how to fix things like this," Rusl smiled, ruffling his boy's hair. "You should get to the ranch, Link. Don't want to keep Fado waiting."

She nodded and headed off, waving to them as she left. She heard Colin ask Uli something, but didn't bother to listen. It was rude to eavesdrop, even if she _did_ do it sometimes.

She entered the ranch, smiling at the goats as they grazed. Ordonian goats were huge, with thick blue fur and large horns that were as thick as oak trunks. The goats, while stubborn and quick to anger, scared easily and would freak out if they saw something move too fast, but as long as they were kept under control, they would be fine. But if a goat was charging, it was very dangerous.

She thumped the side of the biggest goat and he tossed his head and flicked his tail, ignoring her in favour of eating. Fado stood at the entrance to the stables, arms crossed and his right foot tapping the ground impatiently. He sighed in relief when he saw Link. "There ya are, bud. I was beginnin' ta think you wouldn't show up. As ya can see, there ain't a lot being disobedient today, so all ya need ta do is heard the rest of 'em in. Be sure not to make 'em mad, either."

Link nodded at the warning and mounted Epona, getting to work at herding the goats in. Being one of the only Ordonians to have a horse, Link frequently was called to the ranch to help out. There were plenty of other horses in the stables, but Epona was the biggest and best-trained of them all. Because of her size, it was easy to guide the goats into their paddocks, which Fado closed behind them as they ran in.

Evening would soon be upon them when Link finished, smiling at Fado as he ran over. "Thanks a million, bud. Couldn't have done it without ya," he smiled. "Since you did a good job today, I'll let you have tomorrow off. Its the least I can do," he said, handing her a red Rupee. "'Night, Link."

Link gave a nod and headed out of the ranch, patting Epona's neck affectionately. 'Good job, girl,' she thought. She dug into her pocket and fished out an apple, giving it to the mare, who gladly accepted it. 'I guess we're not quiet done with the day yet. We need to help Rusl.'

Epona nickered and tossed her mane, as if able to hear her. That right there was the reason her horse was so smart; she could understand what Link was getting across. Sometimes even better than Ilia, who was the best at understanding her in Ordon. Rusl was a close second, but lately his mind was on his family.

It was frustrating sometimes, not being able to talk. Everyday she wondered how others did it so effortlessly. Was it as simple as they made it? Or was it harder than she assumed? The only sounds she could make were laughing and screaming, everything else was silent. As if someone ripped out her voice box.

She subconsciously hoped that she might find a Mage who was a telepath, just so she could get a taste of what a real conversation was like, not just a bunch of 'yes' or 'no' questions.

She was promptly kicked out of her thoughts when she walked right into a tree. She fell back and landed on her bum, her face red. Goddesses did she hope no one saw that. After looking around she was happy to find no one had seen her being a klutz. That would have been embarrassing.

The moment after letting Epona rest by a tree, Rusl walked over with two axes in hand. "We should go now before it gets dark. We have a lot of wood to collect." He handed her the axe. He frowned slightly, seeing a slightly sad glint in her eyes. "You were thinking about being mute again, weren't you?" she looked up in alarm. He smiled gently. "Link, never be ashamed of yourself. Never feel like you're stupid for what you can and cannot do. You are very special, even with your faults."

Link forced a grateful smile, but inside her head she was confused. Special? Her? How could a short, mute Hylian be special? He always thought she was going to become something great, which always made her confused. Maybe it was just a guardian's/father's wish to see their kids do well. Yeah, that had to be it. He was just telling her that because he loved her and wanted her to know that.

However small a comfort it was, she supposed it was still a comfort, so her forced smile turned genuine as they headed out to collect wood, Epona following obediently.

-Later-

After gathering enough wood, Link and Rusl sat down by Faron's Spring, watching the rays of the sun dance on the water as it set. The sky turned a reddish-orange with a tinge of pink, and dark clouds looked welcoming. Wind blew, making the branches of trees dance and break off a few leaves. A leaf fell into the spring, in front of Link, and caused ripples to glide over the mirror-like surface. Link smiled. This was her favourite time of day. Yet, intertwined with the serene atmosphere, something always seemed...sad, almost. Like someone was reaching out, but couldn't quiet grasp what they were reaching for. Sometimes, if the water was really peaceful, she could even see faces in the surface.

"You feel it, don't you?" Rusl asked, his voice gravely as if talking to himself. "You feel the sadness that flows through the very wind at this time." Link nodded slowly. "That is because, during this time only, our world is close to the realm of the departed spirits. At this moment, we are feeling the emotion of a thousand persons wishing to be part of our world again. These are the spirits of those who have not yet passed on to the Goddesses' Realm or Din's Hell. The spirits who are not yet done watching Hyrule. Sometimes, if you listen well enough, you can hear them whisper. Can you hear them?" Link strained her hearing, but even with her enhanced hearing, she couldn't hear a single thing. She dejectedly shook her head. "That is a good thing. It means those who care about you and have died have passed on, happy for you." Link felt her heart wrench. Did that mean...? She looked at Rusl, hope in her eyes. He smiled softly, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a hug. "Yes. It means your parents have fully passed over. But others, they aren't so lucky. I know several people who can hear the spirits of dusk. But even if you can't hear them or see them, everyone can feel the presence of those once passed. That is why there is always a peaceful sadness at the hour of twilight."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Rusl letting it sink in. Link was nodding, somewhat understanding what Rusl was talking about. "Well enough talk about sadness. I meant to ask you earlier, but you were busy." _That_ certainly piqued Link's curiosity. She sat up, looking at Rusl. "You know how I am supposed to deliver the sword to the Princess in two days time?" Link nodded, of course she did. "I don't think I can. I want to stay in Ordon with Uli and Colin, be there for them when the baby comes. Because of that, I was hoping you could take it."

Link's eyes brightened like stars the moment he said it. He wanted _her_ to go to Castle Town and deliver the sword? Her head filled up with emotions-glee, fear, eagerness, nervousness, excitement-and it made her head spin. Should she go? Should she not? This could be an early chance to see Hyrule! To get out of Ordon and see the rest of the land! But she would also not be able to see her friends for a while. Who would look after the goats when Fado couldn't? Would Ilia be lonely being the only teenager? Would Colin be alright? But on the other hand, she could go have an adventure! She could see different races, experience different things. Maybe even meet the Princess! That would be so cool!

It took a little longer for her emotion-filled brain to come to a conclusion, but she finally nodded eagerly when she decided; she was going to Castle Town! Rusl chuckled, hugging her to his side and messing up her already messy hair. "I knew you'd agree. I'll talk to Bo about it when I go back home. I'm sure he'll be fine with you going. Well, we should get back anyway. You and Epona have been working hard today," he smiled and got up, helping Link on the way.

Link couldn't keep the smile off her face, too giddy to stop. She was going to see Hyrule! Even if she didn't like crowds, she thought she could handle it, if only so she could see more than Ordon. She wondered what things she would see, if she would actually work up the courage to make some new friends, and every other possible scenario that could worm it's way into her path along the journey.

When they got back to Ordon, Link hugged Rusl tightly, making him laugh as he hugged her back. "I'm glad you're happy with this. You should pack some supplies, it will be a long journey, even on horseback. Goodnight, Link," he ruffled her hair and left, taking two bundles of sticks with him. Uli and Colin were waiting by the gate to the main village and Rusl pat Colin's head as he passed. The ten-year-old turned to Link and smiled, waving at her as she smiled back and waved.

Who cared if she was mute? Who cared if she was short? And who gave a crap if some weirdo in a dream called her an outcast? She was going to have the time of her life!

As she packed that night, humming, she had no way of knowing how right her thoughts were, or how much different they would be than she imagined.

Gery: Whoo, that was certainly easier to write XP I thought doing SSBB would be easy and fun! But it's not. It's hard. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this new story! See ya!


	2. Saving Talo

To the Silver titan: Yep. And yes, yes it is ^_^ It's a prequel to Silent Courage. Thank you! And I hope you find a good writing program soon!

To Spotty-Chan: Yep! *glomps* Thanks for understanding, life _does_ come first after all. I'm happy I got this up, too, it's been on my mind for a while. No worries ^_^ Here ya go! Thank you! I guessed :) Bye!

To Mihang: Yep! ^_^

Gery: Huzzah! It didn't take forever and a half to finish this!

Alex: Well that's the first in a year

Gery: Shush, don't ruin my happy moment

Adam: Gery doesn't own LoZ, only her OCs

Gery: Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Saving Talo

It was days when Link had no work that she loved the most. She got the sleep in until noon and spend the rest of the day being with her friends or helping Rusl with whatever. Today, wasn't that day. It took a while, but eventually she heard yelling and groaned, rolling onto her back. Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed and up the ladder to the highest platform of her house, where a window was. She moved the curtains aside and looked through, seeing three of the kids standing there. "Hey, Link! You're finally awake!" Talo, the oldest boy, waved up. "Come down here! We got something cool to tell ya!"

Link wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but she knew these kids well enough to know they were stubborn. They wouldn't leave her alone until they told her what they wanted. So, yawning all the while, Link got dressed and left her house, climbing the ladder down so she doesn't give Talo any ideas. Talo was the same age as Colin, with brown hair, eyes and always wearing a bandanna on top of his head. Talo also had a little brother, five-year-old Malo. He sure as Din's Hell didn't act five. He was more serious than most adults, but he also had his childish moments, which Link thought was good. It's no fun being serious all the time. Malo looked a lot like Talo, just smaller and with a bit of baby fat still. And the third kid was a girl named Beth, who had light brown hair, green eyes and freckles. She would be twelve in a month and was the one to know when the brothers crossed the line with their ways.

Trying to stifle yet another yawn, Link walked up to the kids and Talo was eager to jump into what he wanted to say. "Link, didja hear? They got a slingshot at the shop now! Isn't that cool?"

Slingshot? When did Sera get that? _How_ did Sera get that? Sera was one of the more over-protective parents in the village, it was strange she got it.

"We wanted to get it, but we don't have the Rupees right now," Talo continued, turning to Beth. "Can't you let us borrow it?"

"No way! I can't let you take it if you don't have the Rupees. Go buy it if you want it."

"With what Rupees? Are allowances stink," Malo mumbled.

"Maybe if you did more than just swing a stick around all day, you'd have more money," Beth said matter-of-factually. "I'm not arguing with you two about it, okay?"

"Why do you get to live at the shop? All our parents have is a windmill, and that's useless," Talo crossed his arms, glaring at nothing in particular.

Link would have liked pointing out that the windmill _was_ important, but she could never get her thoughts across the ever-impatient Talo. She liked all the kids in Ordon, she really did, but sometimes Talo would drive her up the wall with his attitude. He just seemed to not care about other's feelings or views when he said something, like his opinions were the soul answers in the universe. He needed to learn to not take things for granted, that was for certain.

Hanging away from the trio, Colin was visiting Epona, feeding her an apple. Link smiled as she walked over to him, always happy to see Colin with her horse. Epona might not have absolutely loved Colin like she did Link or Ilia, but she did like his visits when they came. Colin jumped when Link cleared her throat, making her laugh as he blushed lightly. "Hi Link. I was just saying 'hi' to Epona," he scuffed his foot. He always got shy with her when the others were around. "You have the day off today, so I was wondering if, maybe, we could go fishing later?" he gave her a hopeful look and Link nodded. How could she say no to that? Besides, she hadn't had any real time with just Colin for a while. "Great! I'll see you later!" he smiled and went back to petting Epona, who flaunted the attention.

Her horse was stubborn and prideful, but she loved to be the center of attention, unlike her rider.

Link shook her head and looked back at the trio. They were arguing, as per usual, and that was a shame. The day was bright and sunny, much different than previous days. They should be out enjoying the sun, not fighting over a silly slingshot.

'I guess I could go get it for them, just to give them something to do other than fight,' she thought, putting a hand to her chin. Quickly agreeing with her idea, she headed out, going into the main village.

The first thing Link saw upon entering was Hanch, Sera's husband, looking up at the biggest tree in the village. He had a bit of a troubled look on his face and Link followed his gaze. There was a huge bee's nest near the top, daring anyone to climb the tree. She wondered why Hanch was interested, bee larva didn't sell well, unless there was a fisherman around. She trotted over to him and tapped his shoulder, making him flinch and jump away comically. "Ahh! Oh, hello there, Link," he laughed his yelp off. "You startled me! You need to at least clear your throat."

She ignored the comment and pointed to the hive, curious. "Ah, well, last night our cat ate the fish we were going to eat for dinner. Sera yelled at 'im and he ran off. He was gone all night and hasn't come back yet. I'm trying to cheer Sera up by getting the bee larva, but I'm not sure how much that'll help. If you were wanting to see Sera, she's at the shop."

Ugh, cats. They always loved attacking her. She had no idea why, it was like they saw something in her they didn't like. She had yet to meet a cat who didn't try to gouge her eyes out the moment it saw her. But, despite her hatred to the felines, she knew how much Sera loved her cat, so she decided to head into the shop and see if there was anything she could do.

The door creaked upon opening and Link walked in to see Sera sitting at the counter, looking at a bottle of milk with unfocused eyes. It was strange seeing her without a smile, she was the mother-figure of the entire village, always worrying and taking care of everyone. To see her so upset like that, it wasn't right.

Sera looked up when she heard Link's footsteps and she gave a forced smile. "Hello Link, how are you m'dear? I'd love to talk to ya, but I'm just not in the mood. My husband probably told you about our cat, and the scolding I gave him. I'm worried, that cat can't take care of himself very well. If you see him, could you bring him back?"

No matter how much Link hated cats, she hated seeing people upset more. One of the worst things was seeing someone upset and not being able to do anything about it. Sera didn't even look at Link when she nodded and left, intent on finding the cat.

She jumped when a voice called from above her head, "Hey, Link! Top of the morning!" she looked up to see Jangle, Talo and Malo's father, standing on one of the many stone pillars that dot Ordon Village. "You need to come up here and see something, it's pretty funny."

Now with her curiosity piqued, Link climbed up the ivy, almost slipping at one point, and got onto the pillar. "Look over there, ain't that Sera's cat?" she looked to where he was pointing, behind the windmill, and low-and-behold the tortuous-shell was there, gazing into the water. Well that was easy. "The cat's been there all morning, trying to catch a fish. Ha! A cat can't catch no fish!"

'Most can, just not that one,' Link thought.

"Oh yeah, Uli was down near the washing spot earlier, she seemed upset about something or other," Jangle said. Link nodded and used the ivy to get back to the ground. Next stop: Uli. The cat can wait.

Uli was indeed standing on the small dock, looking down the river with a worried face. She saw Link and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Morning, Link. Have you seen my cradle? I was washing it and I turned my back on it for a moment, then it was gone. I think it might have washed down the creak."

'Geez, is today 'help everyone smile' day?' Link thought, holding back a sigh. Strange how so many things were going wrong today. If Link was superstitious, she probably would have thought it meant something, but being as she was, she shrugged the idea off and decided to look for the basket as well.

There was a sudden screech and Link held back an annoyed groan. Those monkeys again! She followed the noise and found a monkey with a flower behind one ear. It was jumping up and down on the largest rock in the water, holding Uli's cradle over its head. For the Love of Nayru, why steal a cradle?

Deciding not to dwell on it, Link looked down and smiled. There were some wing-shaped reeds at her feet, newly grown for the spring. She bent down and plucked on, making the reeds shake, and brought the reed to her mouth.

A high whistle emitted from the reed, followed by a loud cry as a hawk flew down. Link lifted her arm, wincing when the hawk's talons gripped it, and pointed to the cradle the monkey was holding. The hawk bobbed its head and took off, making Link bite her lip to keep from yelping. It's talons tore her skin. She lifted her sleeve and clicked her tongue. It wasn't too bad, but she'd have to dress it soon.

The hawk cried again and she looked up to see it coming back with the cradle. The hawk dropped it, it landed on her head, and flew off into the sky, circling Ordon again. Link grumbled lowly, lifting the cradle off her head and tucking it under her right arm, her uninjured one. She hopped across the pillars and jumped from one, slipping and falling on her face. Pretending it didn't happen, she got up and looked around, sighing when no one appeared to have noticed.

Being sure to hide her arm behind her back, she walked over to Uli and tapped her foot on the dock, making Uli look up. The pregnant woman smiled when she saw Link had the cradle. "You found it! Thank you, honey," Uli gave her a hug before taking her arm and guiding her to the cottage. "I have something to give you; from Colin. He was up all night finishing it," Uli opened the door and Link followed, setting the cradle on the table. She looked around the house, the place she had grown up in for a few years. No matter how much she told herself she liked living alone in her tree house, she still loved coming back to this place.

"Here it is," Link turned to Uli to find her holding a collapsible fishing rod. It was well-crafted, too. Link smiled as she took it, running a hand down the smooth pole. "He wanted to give it to you for your birthday, but we didn't have enough wood to make it."

Link grinned and opened the rod up, finding it was about three meters long. It didn't take a genius to figure out this was why Colin wanted to go fishing. He was such a sweet boy. Link bowed her head to Uli in thanks and left, eager to try this rod out. So eager in fact, she went straight to the fishing spot behind the windmill. Keeping her distance and an eye on the cat, she sat down and took off her sandals, dipping her feet in the water as she cast the rod.

For a while she sat there, humming to herself quietly as she just relaxed. Her mind soon wandered to the monkey. She was curious as to why the monkeys have gotten to be such pests. Did it have anything to do with the monsters? Sometimes she wished she could understand animals.

She was taken out of her thoughts by the line tugging. She leaned back and relied in the line, smiling when an Ordon Bass hung on the hook. She was about to take it off when the cat jumped on her lap, scratched her hand, and took off with the fish, running over her face for good measure.

'Stupid cat!' Link growled, rubbing her hand. The cat didn't break her skin, but that was going to leave a mark for a while. Thinking colourful words, Link got up and collapsed the rod so she could tuck it into her sash. When collapsed, it was only a foot long.

Link went back to Sera's shop to find the cat innocently drinking some milk. She resisted growling at it and turned to Sera, who was smiling fondly at him. She looked at Link and smiled. "Hello, m'dear! My cat came back with a fish. He caught it all on his own, didn't' you?" Sera pat the cat's head. The cat seemed to shoot Link a look that clearly said 'take that, sucker!' and Link's fist clenched. Dumb cat. "But I'm sure you found him, so take this as my thanks," Sera handed Link the bottle with some milk left in it. She smiled and held it under her arm as she brought out her Rupee Bag.

"You probably want the slingshot, eh?" Sera guessed, taking it off the shelf. "I would say 'you seem a bit old for this', but that doesn't seem relevant to you." Link grinned, happy to know her immaturity left less questions asked.

Then there was a scream and the two looked at the door when there was a thud. Link went to open the door, but it opened itself and smacked her into the wall behind it. 'Screw. My. Luck,' she thought, trying to push the door off, but someone was leaning on it.

That someone was Hanch, who was panting and clenching a hand to his eye. "Hanch, what happened?" Sera asked, rushing over and temporarily forgetting about Link.

"Ah-heh-heh, well I was trying to get some bee larva for the shop and I threw a rock at it. Not the best plan," he chuckled as Link got out from behind the door. She slipped outside before anything else happened and looked at the slingshot. It was simple, but it would at least catch the trio's attention.

As she came to the front of her home, Rusl walked up to her. "There you are. Uli mentioned you helped find her cradle earlier. Thanks for the help," he turned to the tree house. "Your sword's all fixed up. I put it on your table so you wouldn't miss it. Be sure not to break it again, alright, lass?" he chuckled, clapping her shoulder as he walked by. "I've also talked to Bo. He agreed to let you go deliver the sword, so finish packing today while you can."

Link nodded and went to her house, only to find a Walltula on her ladder. That was confusing, did it move there after Rusl left? How'd it get there so fast? Trying to push off the sense of unease, Link used the slingshot to shoot it down. It fell at her feet and turned darker before blowing up, making Link down-right baffled. She had dealt with Walltula before, they didn't blow up when they died!

She rubbed her forehead and sighed. She was thinking too much into this. Maybe this was a different type of Walltula, with Bomb Flower juice for blood or something equally ridiculous.

After getting the sword and strapping it to her back (she would trip over it if she put it on her hip), Link found the trio coming from the path to Ordona's Spring. She hoped they hadn't tried to go into the forest.

"Hey, Link! We were just at the spring," Talo said. His words were backed up by how soaked his clothes were. "Wow cool! You got the slingshot!" and just like that, his attention was on the weapon. "Can you use it? Can you show us?"

"You don't have to be so pushy, Talo," Beth said, putting her hands on her hips. She was turning more into a mini Sera every day.

Talo shot her a glare before looking back at Link. "Please?"

Link knew very well how persistent Talo was, so she nodded and went over to the small training area beside her house. She set up a practice dummy (which composed of a stick with a flour bag draped across its torso and an old pumpkin for a head) and stepped back, finding a good spot to shoot from.

She wasn't fantastic with the slingshot, only hitting the right arm and grazing the head, but Talo didn't care about accuracy. He just cared about the weapon itself. Malo kept mumbling about Link's near-misses and Beth just watched silently, a little bored. She wasn't much into weapons like the brothers.

Once Talo was satisfied, he picked up a stick near Link's house and grinned, pointing to her sword. "Can you teach me how to use that? That way I can chase of those monkeys if they come again!"

That would have sent up red flags to any other person, but Link was more than happy to show him the things she learned. She was much better with a sword than any other weapon. She took her sword off her back and walked up to the dummy, slicing it with several simple maneuvers and a 'jump attack' as Talo called it.

The moment Link was finished showing them the attacks, Talo spotted something at the exit of the village. He ran after it and Link only had a moment to see the same monkey from earlier before it and Talo disappeared.

Malo and Beth followed afterward and Link ran her hands through her hair, looking between the main village and the exit. She could go and get help or go after them herself. If she got help there was no telling how far the kids could get, but she's not sure if she can save them herself.

'I'm wasting time!' she let her arms drop and looked at the exit. Forgetting about help, she ran to Epona and mounted her, even though she was saddle-less. Epona, sensing urgency, took off the moment Link got on and charged towards the path to Ordon. Link was hoping to find the kids just outside the Spring, but when they weren't there she got worried.

Epona ran over the bridge and toward a fence, which was somehow closed. Malo and Beth were, thankfully, waiting to the side, panting. Link slowed down Epona and didn't even need to have a voice to get her question across.

Where was Talo?

"He climbed the fence and chased the monkey further into the forest," Beth said. "Last I saw him, he turned left at the Spring."

So towards Coro's. Good, he's not heading towards that forest. Link shuddered involuntarily, not evening wanting to think about that.

She shook her head and backed Epona up. They were going to have to jump over. It would be faster than climbing. Link leaned forward and clicked her tongue, telling Epona to run. The large mare cleared the fence easily and kept charging passed the Spring and down the path. She suddenly came to a halt, making Link fly over her head and land on her back, and neighed, stomping her feet. Link sat up and rubbed her head, looking up at Epona in confusion. What got into her?

Link's question was answered when a Deku Baba bite down on her shoulder like a steel trap, making her scream in agony. She groped for her sword and once she grabbed the hilt, she swung it at its head. It had to be hit several times before it let go. Link winced as she crawled away from it, flipping onto her bum when she was two meters away. The Deku Baba spat at her before going to rest in the ground. She panted, leaning back to catch her breath.

Her arm was bleeding, but it was nothing a little Red Potion couldn't fix. Rubbing her arm, she got up and gazed at the tunnel. She'll need to get by that plant. Without thinking, she ran at the tunnel, sword raised and ready to strike the Baba. It sprang up and took a snap at her. It missed biting her, but it knocked her onto her back. She grunted when she hit and yelped again when it bite down on her calf. Epona reared up behind Link and brought her hoof down on the Baba's neck, making it let go and killing it.

Epona rubbed her nose on Link's face, sniffing her and seeing if she was okay. This made Link laugh and she pushed Epona's face away, getting up and wincing. Maybe charging wasn't the best plan. She shook her head and headed towards the tunnel, taking out a lantern from her sash. Good thing she grabbed it earlier at her house. She stuck her tongue out as she fumbled with the fuse, concentrating on the flint. She eventually got it and blinked the spots from her eyes, as she had been staring at it. She walked towards the cave but tripped on something, gracelessly landing on her face.

Grumbling, she looked at what she tripped on to find her heart stop. Talo's fake sword. It was lying on the grown useless. That confirmed it, Talo was further in the forest. Link got to her feet and ran, ignoring her leg and arm as she sprinted through the tunnel. Only to get stopped by a web.

'You has _gotta_ be kiddin' me,' she tugged her arm out of the web and picked some off her face. 'Now what?'

A rat then decided to bite her calf, making her jump and swing the lantern. The flame caught the web as she kicked the rat into the wall. She stared at the spot where the web was. Well, that was one way of doing things.

She came across a few other webs and rats along the way, as well as some Keese, but nothing was too hard to handle. Which was good, she didn't want to waste time.

On the other side of the tunnel was the deeper part of Faron Woods, where the monsters were. There weren't any she spotted right away, but that might have been from the shadows. Her heart pounded as she took her sword off her back. It wouldn't do as much to the Bokoblins as it did the Keese. She hoped she could avoid them.

She quickly got paranoid walking through the forest. Every shadow looked like it moved, every rustle sounded like a swing of a weapon, and even her own footsteps made her feel unsafe and loud. And the lighting was awful; it was just dark enough not to see anything, but just like enough so her eyes couldn't adjust.

There was a grunt and she slammed her back against the tree behind her, her breathing heavy as two Bokoblins stepped out of the bushes. They hadn't spotted her yet. She tried to sneak around the tree to hide but, as luck would have it, she stepped on a stick. The snap was more like a bang in the quiet forest and the Bokoblins turned their gazes to her. There was a tense moment when nothing happened, then the Bokoblins attacked.

Link gulped as they charged, looking around for an escape route. There was none to be seen. She would have to fight. She held the hilt of her sword in both hands, her hands shaking as the monsters got closer and closer. The one on the right jumped and swung its spiked club at her head, which she barely managed to dodge by ducking. She stabbed her sword forward but missed her target, giving the Bokoblin on the left a free hit on her arm. Luckily its club wasn't spiked, but just as unluckily there would be a big bruise there later.

Link spun on her heal, managing to hit one of them and knock it off balance. It fell back and its friend jumped in before she could finish it. The other Bokoblin's swing missed her head by a centimeter, making her eyes go wide as she took a step back. But she hadn't realized how close to a hill she was. She yelped as she fell backwards and started rolling down the hill, dropping her sword some time along the way.

She came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, moaning. Her vision blurred and spun and she couldn't feel her arms or legs. The sword landed on her stomach and she sat up, rubbing her arms as she looked around. This was unfamiliar territory. The trees were taller with more moss and closer together. And was that a cave? Link stood up and picked up her sword, gazing to the top of the hill where the Bokoblins were. One of them had tried to follow her, but ran into a rock and got knocked out cold. She laughed and thought she was lucky that wasn't her.

There was a scuttling noise and bark fell onto her head. She felt her face go pail as she looked up. A biggest Skulltula she had ever seen was climbing down a tree, its pitchers clicking. She scurried backwards, tripping over a log, and crawled on her hands and feet backwards. The Skulltula let go of the tree and landed, causing the ground to shake slightly. It was easily the size of Epona and had the intent to kill. Link gulped and scrambled to her feet, trembling as the massive spider crawled towards her.

It reared up on its back four legs and leaped forward, pinning her to the ground. Her sword was pointed to its neck as it tried to snap at her, its claws scraping her arms and face. Pure adrenaline coursed through her as she sent the tip of the sword into the Skulltula's jugular. It made a weak squealing noise and fell forward, crushing Link for a moment before it turned black and blew up, covering her in soot. She coughed and rolled onto her stomach to get up. Her heart was still pounding as she stood on shaky legs, staring at the spot she had just been. She wiped her face and it took a few moments to realize that there were tears on her cheeks. She had been so close to dieing. Right then and there, her life could have ended.

She suddenly grew angry. She kicked the log she had tripped over, making her foot throb. Why had she been so stupid? She should have gotten an adult to come in here! Why did she have to rush into things without thinking first? She ran her hands through her hair, trying to take calming breaths.

A sudden scream made her jump and hide behind a tree, her back pressed to it. Her ears down, she peeked around the trunk to see Talo being taken by a pair of Bokoblins. And the monkey was with them too. Link ran out from behind the tree, charging at the Bokoblins with her sword raised. But an unseen Deku Baba shot from the ground and grabbed her right upper arm, making her scream as it sunk it's teeth in. It was in the exact same spot where the last one had gotten her. She sliced at the Baba's roots, eventually killing it, but by the time she was done Talo and the Bokoblins were gone.

'Dammit!' Link thought, punching the tree. She winced a second later and held her fist into her stomach. 'I was so close to saving him,' she rested her forehead on the tree, eyes closed.

A low chuckle came from behind her and she spun around, backing into the tree when a single, ruby red eye stared at her through a bush. There was another deep chuckle and the eye vanished. A third chuckle came from her right and she looked to see the eye and a silhouette of an animal of some sort.

"_Hahaha. Pathetic_," a deep, almost dark voice rang through the trees. "_A weak human being saved by an even smaller, weaker human. What a laugh_." The words echoed and Link took in a shuttering breath. The eye vanished again and she was left there in the silence.

Link rubbed her hand, looking at the damage. It wouldn't scar, but it would be there for mark of her stupidity for a good long while. She sighed and looked at the gate that the Bokoblins took Talo through. She mentally kicked herself. She should have gone after him right away, not wallow in her mistakes.

Taking up her sword, she sprinted through the gate and up a path, hoping she wasn't too late.

The eye watched the Hylian run by with amusement. _"_Very_ pathetic. I hope the Goddesses are wrong."_

Link rubbed at her wounds as she followed the path. There was only one way to go so at least she wouldn't get lost. She came up a steady hill and saw three more Bokoblins guarding a small clearing. They spotted her right away and she took off her sword, holding it in both hands again. They surrounded her so she spun on her heel, swinging her sword and hitting them all. She stopped spinning, a bit dizzy, and smiled. That had gone better than she thought.

Her back got hit by one of the Bokoblins and she hopped to the side, dodging the second swing. 'Hey, I'm getting better!' she thought happily, jumping forward and hitting the Bokoblins with the hilt of her sword, knocking it out. The other two Bokoblins charged at her, but she was able to knock them back with the flat of her sword. Not that there were any sharp edges on it.

She kept going and found a strange-looking, pale blue bird with feathers that looked like a bush on its head. It squawked and flapped its wings as a Bokoblin reached for it. Link got out her Slingshot and shot at it, but the rock whizzed past the Bokoblin's head. It turned around and yelled at her, swinging its club above its head. Link tilted her head. What was it doing?

She shook her head and ran at it, bringing her sword down on its shoulder. (She was aiming for the head). A sickening crack echoed and the Bokoblin screamed in pain, dropping its club and holding its shoulder. Going with it, Link knocked it out and looked up at the bird which had settled down.

"Gee, thanks buddy," she blinked. "Those weird guys started showing up and since then I haven't had any costumers." Link looked at the 'shop'. There two cauldron, one with oil and one with Red Potion. He had costumers before? "For helping me, I'll let you take a bottle of one of my things. Free of charge, of course. But don't expect that luxury all the time."

Link nodded and took some Potion. She nodded her thanks to the bird and looked around the clearing. A giant tree stands at the end of a winding path, which wasn't held up by anything. That was comforting. Link saw something move and squinted her eyes to try and see. It was starting to get dark, so it was getting harder. Her curiosity overwhelmed her and she walked up the path. Her curiosity payed of. Talo was inside a cage, along with the monkey, and was being guarded by two Bokoblins.

"Link!" Talo called, alerting the two monsters. Link easily knocked them out, much easier than past fights, and walked up to the cage. It was about her height. She glanced at her sword from the corner of eye then back at the cage. It was only made of sticks, so could she...? She motioned for Talo to duck down, thankfully he understrood, and spun, easily breaking the 'bars'.

Talo cheered, pumping his fist into the air, and the monkey ran right by Link, not taking a glance back. Talo's cheering was halted when Link crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him and tapping her foot. He became sheepish, trying a grin to see if it came off as innocent. A Walltula that just ate a mouse looked more innocent. Talo gulped, knowing full-well he was going to get an ear-full at Ordon.

The walk back took a shorter time than going out, which Link was happy about. The silence was, frankly, starting to drive her mad. They came out of the tunnel when Talo spoke up. "I'm in trouble, aren't I, Link?" he asked. Link nodded. "Is there anything you can do to make it better?" She shook her head. He looked down. "Oh. Well, can you keep this a secret?" again she shook her head. She wasn't a liar.

Talo completely deflated then. Link felt a little sorry for him, but she herself had been on enough misadventures in the forest to know there was no way out of trouble. As they passed a push, Link saw the red eye again and stopped in her tracks. She stared at the eye, not blinking. Talo went on ahead as she stood there, almost in a trance.

The eye blinked, taking her out of the trance. It chuckled again. "_Still very pathetic_." And with that, it vanished yet again.

"Link? There you are," she jumped violently and turned around, finding Rusl coming from Coro's house. "Where's Talo?" she jerked her thumb towards the village. "Good. Colin told me he ran off and that you went after him. I'm sure Jangle and Pergie are grateful. That was very reckless of you, though. Brave, but reckless. If this happens again, come get me or Bo," he saw her injuries. "Go clean those up. You don't want to be in pain while going to the castle. Tomorrow's a big day for you after all. After work, stop by my house and get the sword, then you can head out. I'll also talked to Jangle about giving you a shield. It would be best to be protected. Hyrule's beautiful, but dangerous. Even with that, I'm sure you'll have a great time."

Link smiled and hugged him, making him chuckle. "If I don't see you before you go, good luck. Who knows? You may even meet the Princess." He joked.

That night, Link had the worst nightmare she had ever had. She was running from something, but she couldn't move from the spot she was on. The thing she was running from was towering up behind her, casting a dark, cold shadow over her. She felt so small. Smaller than ever before. The thing behind her laughed, picking her up by her torso. It brought her to its face, breathing its hot, fowl breath over her. She stared up at it in utter terror, eyes wide and mouth agape. The thing laughed again and morphed into the face of a man. The man from her past dreams. His emotionless, poison-yellow eyes glared into her ocean blue ones, seeming to peer into her heart and soul. "You are the saddest excuse for a hero I have ever seen. And I've seen a lot. You are of no threat to me. But it won't hurt to kill you. Well, it won't hurt me at least," he grinned, his eyes flashing a deep blood red. He tightened his hand around her neck, making her grasp at it and gasp for air. He tightened his hold more and more with each passing minute until, finally, there was a snap.

Link sat up fast with a scream, sweat soaking her covers and skin. She brought her hands to her neck, rubbing it as she took in deep, unsteady breaths. It took several minutes for her heart to stop pounding. She looked out her window, seeing the full moon shine through the curtains.

She couldn't place why, but a feeling of dread filled her being. She felt like something awful had just happened somewhere. But were her feeling correct? Did something happen in Hyrule? She ran a hand through her hair and rubbed her temples, feeling her head pound in rhythm to her heart. She couldn't think with a headache.

The dread lingered in the back of her mind as she fell back asleep, ultimately forgetting the nightmare during that restless time.

Gery: Whaaaat? A chapter that didn't take over a month to write? Blasphemy! Naw but really, I'm _very_ happy that I was able to write this without too many problems. (Guess it helps that I've played Twilight Princess about seven times through). Its just that I don't really like this part of the game, mostly 'cause it takes too long and I am honestly not a fan of Talo. The little brat. But I also couldn't make Link hate him, because she's not that kind of person, so I made him a bit more bearable. Maybe. Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, despite its slowness and boring-ness. See ya!

Question: Of course I've played Pokémon Y lately and finished it, and I got to thinking; what are some cool types


	3. Descending Shadows

To the Silver titan: Thank you! I'm excited about this too. I just have to remember some things that I mentioned in Silent Courage so that it's consistent. I'm sure you'll find one soon.

To InvaderKimofExorcisandAlchemy: Hi *waves* Thank you! I don't really know. I usually have a minimal goal for the length (Silent Courage it was at least twenty pages and this and Bonded Triforce are ten) and then I just type away. Most of the time I don't even plan out my chapters much other than the gist of it and things, then it's the execution I never really plan. The words just flow through. I'll try! See ya!

Chapter 3: Descending Shadows

Link sat on the fence, swinging her legs as she gazed off over the hills surrounding Ordon Ranch. The day was breezy and clear, perfect for travel as Rusl had put it. He had told her to take her time and to rest often. If she did that then she'd be at the Castle in three days, and the tribute was due in a week. There was even some time for sightseeing during her travel.

But she was also really nervous.

Everything would be so much different than Ordon. It was overwhelming just to think about. Not to mention she'd have to give the sword to complete strangers, who would most likely get mad when she couldn't tell them anything. _That_ was the biggest worry. No one would even get a clue of what she was trying to say. She'd be completely on her own with no one to understand her charades.

'I wish someone could hear me,' she thought, tilting her head back and gazing at the clouds.

"Heeeey! Link!" she jumped slightly and saw Fado running over. "I know I promised you the day off, but mind helpin' me out before you go? The goats are _really_ anxious today."

Link looked at the goats. It was true. They were all staring at the sky, as if waiting for something. Every now and then a flock of birds would fly in from the north, which would be considered strange if not for the fact it was spring. Link's birthmark was also acting up all morning, sometimes getting itchy and other times burning slightly.

She shook her head mentally and got off the fence. Maybe working would get her mind of things.

It took a little longer than usual, but the goats were eventually herded into their paddocks. It would have taken less time if they had stopped charging at her and if Epona wouldn't have stopped every now and then to paw the ground. It was all very weird. Epona was usually well-behaved. Well, around people she liked, anyway.

Fado didn't say anything about the time. It seemed he realized the animals were being strange as well. He just waved Link off and wished her a safe journey. She nodded, dismounting Epona and guiding the finicky mare back into Ordon.

Ilia was sitting on the porch of her house, working on something in her hands. Link didn't get to see what it was because Ilia hid it inside a small pouch on her belt when she saw her. "There you are. I was wondering when you'd be done," she said, getting up and walking over to her. "Dad told me you were going. I hope you have a good time."

Link smiled, patting Epona's shoulder. There was a small scratch on the blade from the day before, which Link had dressed to make sure Ilia didn't find out. Ilia always got mad if Link was a bit careless and Epona got hurt. Though they usually laughed it off later at the Spirit Spring.

"Good day, Link," Ilia's dad, a rather large man and the mayor of Ordon, came up the path from Sera's Shop. "Rusl said the sword is sheathed and ready for pick-up. He couldn't see you off because he went to the forest to lock the gate, to make sure no one got by again. I wish you luck," he clapped her on the shoulder. "Hyrule's a nice place. But keep in mind that-"

"Link?" Link started a bit when Colin spoke up. She hadn't even noticed him there. "Um, since you'll be going, I was wondering if we could fish for a bit. We never got the chance, yesterday," he scuffed his sandal, looking at the ground. Link nodded and waved to Ilia and her dad.

"What were you going to say?" Ilia asked, rubbing Epona's nose.

Bo sighed. "Hyrule Castle Town hasn't accepted women as warriors. While it's not forbidden, it is frowned upon by most Hyrulians. I'm just worried she might run into some of those people."

Ilia looked down the path, seeing Link and Colin sitting near the dock. _But if no one told you, you'd never realize she's a girl. She'll probably be mistaken for a boy __while__ travel__ing__._

-Half an hour later-

Link was back at her tree house, finishing up on the packing and putting her satchel on. She gazed at herself in the mirror. She smiled at herself. It was time to go.

Still grinning like a maniac, she left her house and climbed down the ladder to see Ilia waiting at the bottom, holding Epona's reigns. "There you are. I was wondering when you would show up," she smiled, hugging Link. "I hope you have a good time. And don't do anything crazy. Promise?" she stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest in an X. Link smiled and followed the movement. They came up with the "Silent Promise" a long time ago.

"No way. We won't let you by," Link and Ilia frowned and looked at the exit. Talo and Malo were blocking Colin's way, while Colin had a bucket in his hands ready to be filled. He stepped back, his head down.

"I said I was sorry..."

"What's going on here?" Ilia demanded, arms crossed.

"Colin tattled on us yesterday and we got in deep trouble because of it. We're not letting him by until he apologizes."

"You just don't want to admit you're wrong," Malo said quietly. Only Link heard him.

"Talo, you're lucky Colin _did_ tell Rusl what happened. What if Link had been more hurt? What if she couldn't even move? She wouldn't have been able to save you." _No_ _offense_, she looked at Link, who shrugged it off. She was thinking along the same lines. If she had been put out of commission, Rusl wouldn't have made it in time to save him.

"But she wasn't!"

"She was close," Colin muttered.

"No one asked you!"

"Boys," Ilia snapped sharply, stopping the fight before it began. "Calm down and forgive Colin. He said he was sorry, like you asked, now let him by."

"...Fine," Talo mumbled. "I forgive you. _Loser_," he whispered under his breath. Link's ears pricked up, wishing she could say something to scold Talo.

'I hate being mute,' she thought. If she wasn't mute, she would be able to help Colin and no one would have to guess what she was saying.

"Thank you," Colin whispered, going by with his head down.

"I'll go comfort him," Ilia said. "You get Epona ready, okay? And no more fighting with Colin, you two," she gave the brothers a stern look before following Colin.

"Hey, Link, y'know what I thought after yesterday? I need to improve my swordsmanship. The flimsy stick I was using wasn't any good at all. Can I borrow your sword for a bit? Just so I can get better?"

Link made a slight skeptical look. She would need it for her journey, but what could it hurt to let him have it for a few minutes? She knew he wouldn't go into the forest so soon after the last time, so she took the wooden sword off her back and gave it to him. "Yeah! Thanks Link!" he ran over to one of the dummies and Link smiled a little. Hopefully he would mature from the forest.

She took Epona's reins and guided her to the Spirit Spring, where Ilia was comforting Colin. Link felt a pain of guilt at the sight of them talking. She couldn't comfort Colin with words, only looks and hand gestures. Most of the time her thoughts were lost on him too. She sighed under her breath, leaning on the gate of the Spring. She wished she wasn't a useless mute.

"_You're not useless,_" a voice pinged in her ears, making them perk up as she looked around. It wasn't from Ilia, and it sounded female, where did it come from? _"And do not be ashamed to be who you were born as, Child."_ She shook her head, pushing off the gate. Maybe her lack of sleep was causing to hear things.

Besides, she _was_ ashamed of herself. Why try to convince herself any different?

She walked up behind the two, coughing into her fist to make her presence known. They jump slightly and look over their shoulders, smiling as Link sat down beside Colin. There they sat in silence, content in just spending time together before things could possibly change. Because as immature as Link was, she wasn't stupid (well, she wasn't _too_ stupid), she knew she might change after this adventure, no matter how small it would be.

'I wish things would never change,' she thought, smiling softly. Her smile was wiped off her face when she heard a sort of rumbling noise. She tilted her head, trying to listen closely. It sounded like...it was coming from the bridge. The ground suddenly shook as well, making the trio stand up and look around in confusion.

Before any of them could react, three boars charged in, being ridden by green Bokoblin-like creatures with green skin and oval-shaped heads. They ran right by Link, going straight for Ilia and Colin, who started to run. Link picked up a branch, but didn't get the chance to help them when a club hit the back of her head.

For a moment, everything was black. Her senses were dull and she could feel water splash onto her face, rousing her a bit. But when she opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything but a gray blur. Above her a horn blew, making her wince. When the horn stopped, there was a snort of laughter and the gray blur above her reared up, slamming cloven hooves near her skull. This made her eyes shoot open as water hit her face, blinding her monetarily as the ground shook.

Once the shaking stopped, she sat up and wiped the water from her eyes, her heart pounding. Well that had been close. She looked around, wanting to see if the others were alright, but she panicked when she didn't find them or Epona. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the water dripping off her clothes, and gulped. Where were they? Did they...?

She turned her gaze to the gate. Without thinking, she sprinted out, seeing the footprints of the boars in the dirt. She ran towards the woods as fast as she could, determined to find them, but stopped short. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, her heart hammering. A large wall of black stood before her, orange runes running over the surface, which rippled like water.

She was about to turn back, when a huge, clawed hand shot through the wall, grabbing her torso and pulling her in, her scream echoing behind her. She tried to pry the claw off, it was starting to cut off her air supply. Her breath hitched for a moment when she was brought to the face of a huge dark creature with a disk-like head and tentacles coming out behind it. It was covered with red runes similar to the wall's.

The creature examined her, tightening its hold on her torso and neck as she tried in vain to get free. Then she felt a burning sensation on her left hand and a bright flash of light shown, making the creature shriek and throw her away. With a thud and a grunt, she landed with her face in the dirt. Gasping heavily, she shakily got herself to her hands and knees, feeling the pounding headache getting worse with each heartbeat, which had sped up dramatically. The world around her pulsed with her heartbeat, making her feel dizzy and sick, almost like she would puke.

Then the worst pain she had ever felt hit. Every bone in her body seemed to break with snaps and cracks, rearranging themselves in strange, unnatural ways. Her spine felt like someone crushed it with a boulder, making her jerk her head up in agony. She could feel her teeth hurt as they grew long and sharp, she could feel her ears shift to the top of her head, her head felt like it was getting crushed and changed, her hands hurt, particularly her left, which was still glowing the strange golden light, she faintly felt something burst out of her tailbone as her nails grew. Then, with a final surge of pure pain, she screamed as hair erupted over her body, covering every inch of her.

In her ears she heard her scream turn into a howl. Her buzzing mind didn't let her think of it as the pain finally eased away slowly. She fell forward, hitting the dirt and blinking before everything went black.

-Later-

Link came to her senses slowly, her eyes opening wider every time she blinked. Her vision was blurred and spinning, making her close her eyes with a grunt. Once she felt the room stop spinning, she reopened her eyes to take a look around. She became confused at once. Stone bricks were surrounding her on three sides, and thick metal bars stood on the fourth side. The floor was cold and hard, making her bones feel stiff, and the only source of light was the strange orange light coming from the bared window.

'Where am I?' she wondered, trying to get to her feet, but her body hurt too much to get further than her hands and knees. Hmm, something didn't feel right. She looked down at her hands to see two things; one: her left hand was chained to the floor, and two: she didn't see hands, but paws. 'Farore's Spirit!' she jumped, quickly looking over herself. She had grey/black fur from above her elbows and going all over her back, and greyish-white fur from below her elbows and her stomach and chest, with white-grey rings coming from the white on her stomach to circle her shoulders and a bit of her hips. There was also a mane-like mass of fur on the back of her neck and a tail sticking out of her butt, which wagged a bit when she stared at it for too long.

What had happened to her? Her mind screamed when it finally sunk in. Why was she a wolf? Was this a thing? Her legs gave out and she dropped onto her stomach with a quiet 'woof'. She flinched when she did so, her ears falling flat on her head. Wait, her ears... she stood on her paws shakily and looked around the ground, finding a puddle near the chain. Not lifting her paw off the ground, she shuffled over to it and peered in. Although the water was a bit murky, she could see that there was a strange mark on her head that looked a rod with a bubble on the top and a dot in the center of the 'bubble'. She felt herself smile when she saw she still had her blue eyes and...wait did she still have her earrings? She snorted, shaking her head.

She sat down once her legs couldn't hold herself anymore, deep in thought. How in Hyrule did she turn into a wolf? What happened? And where was she? She looked around the room again. Was this a cell?

"So you finally woke up," she jumped to her feet at the voice and saw an Imp standing by one of the walls. She had black and white skin, the black almost looking like a strange suit while her face below her eyes, stomach, right hip and right leg were white. She only wore a strange-looking helmet that covered her left eye and her other eye had a yellow cornea and red/orange eyes. She had hair coming out of the top of the helmet that was a colour similar to a sunset sky and it was tied into ponytail. And on her arms were teal-green runes that reminded Link of the creature and the wall. The Imp's smirk turned into a wide grin and she leaped over Link's head, landing behind her and giggling. "I thought you would never wake up."

Unsure of the Imp, Link crouched down slightly, growling at her. The imp only laughed, crossing her arms and leaning to her right leg. "Oh, you're such a scary doggy," she mocked, strutting over to Link's face and patting her head. "With half a brain and only two and a half feet long, if even that."

Link snapped at her and the Imp laughed again, jumping away smoothly and leaning on the wall. "Temper temper. You'd be best to keep that hasty attitude to yourself, some people don't like it."

There was no way this Imp could tell her what to do.

But the Imp smiled deviously.

"Oh, I can tell you what to do. Unless you think you can get out of this cell by yourself?" she gestured around her, but Link ignored the last bit as she stumbled back onto her hind legs, baffled. Did the Imp hear her?

"Why yes, I did, doggy," the Imp grinned wider. "You're mind isn't very quiet, you know."

Link got into a defensive stance, confused and scared. It was impossible!

"Just because you can't talk doesn't mean I can't hear you," the Imp shrugged off the wall and clasped her hands behind her back, walking casually around Link. "Well forget it for now, it's not important."

How something like this couldn't be important was crazy. How could it not be?

"Because I really don't care. Now, do you want out for not? Because I can easily help you escape. That is, if you're good," the Imp put a hand on her chin, smiling once again.

She looked at her paws, feeling a slight headache. Already she was regretting ever wishing someone cold hear her. She didn't like this Imp, she was too mysterious and untrustworthy, but what choice did she have? This Imp was her only way out of this cell, so she would have to believe her for now. Luckily she wouldn't be stuck with her for too long.

Sighing, Link nodded, not liking the Imp's smile at all. "Good girl, you aren't so tough, of course, you are only human." She closed her eyes, cupping her hands together in front of her. She summoned strange ball of energy that was black and red and for a moment, Link thought she saw the runes on her limbs glow a bit brighter, but her mind was taken off that when the imp broke her arms apart, a shot of the energy hitting the chain.

Link yelped and scrambled away, hitting the wall behind her. The Imp raised an eyebrow. "Pft, what? Are you scared of a little magic?" she giggled, jumping into the air and floating there. Link shook her head, trying to deny it, but the Imp saw right through the lie. "Ha! You are! You're scared of magic! Jeez, how much of a coward can you be?" she laughed, shrugging with her arms to the sides. "I've never heard of somebody who can _use_ magic to be afraid of it."

Link winced and looked away, her ears flat on her head. She wasn't sure if she was angry or agreed with that.

"Well, I held up my end of the bargain, but now you need to help yourself," the Imp fazed through the cell bars and landed on the other side, casually putting her arms behind her head. "Find a way out and maybe I'll tell you where we are? Man, this might take awhile."

'Stupid Imp,' Link thought, getting to her paws.

"Yup, can still hear you, Runt."

Link hummed a bit there. Whether she thought directly or indirectly, the Imp was able to hear her. Yet there was something different from the way she 'thought' to the way she 'was thinking'. But she couldn't quite place what it was.

"Oh, there's a difference. Let's see if you can figure it out," the Imp grinned smugly, leaning forward a bit with her fists on her hips.

Trying her best to ignore her, Link looked down at her paws and lifted one, taking a careful step forward and testing out her balance. She could hear her heart beating in her ears as she took another step, but ended up tripping over the shackle on the floor. The Imp burst out laughing and she cringed, peeking an eye open to glare at her.

Teeth gritted, Link pushed herself back up, feeling her legs shake as nerves started to get her. She couldn't understand why this Imp, who was about the size of a toddler, was getting so far under her skin with everything she did. Link hoped she wouldn't have to stick around this Imp for too long.

"The feeling's neutral, Mutt!"

Minutes trickled by as Link steadily walked around the cell, letting herself get used to walking on four legs instead of two. It was hard, yet at the same time if felt...natural to walk like that. Maybe something in her mind let her adjust to this body easier or something. Could her mind have been slightly altered when her body changed? She involuntarily shivered, remembering the pain after having entered the strange wall.

'Wait, strange...' she looked around the cell again. Everything had a darker tone to it than before, even the air felt different. Occasionally, when she narrowed her eyes enough, she could see small, black rectangles float up from the floor and into the air, dissolving soon afterward to be replaced by another. And she soon learned that it gave her a headache to stare at it too long. Running her paw down her face, she shook her head and re-focused her eyes, now trying to ignore the floating rectangles. 'Maybe the Imp will tell me what this stuff is.'

"Or maybe I won't," she looked over at her, who was floating lazily in the air with her legs crossed and her hands behind her head. "Who knows? But you'll never find out anything if you keep being such a moron and can't get out. And I don't know when the guard will come back, so you ought to pick up the pace, Runt, we're burning Twilight."

For a moment Link wondered if that was the time, but quickly shook the thought away. She would have time to deal with it later. Hopefully. Now she just had to get out of the cell and find out where she was. And possibly who this Imp was.

It didn't take too long to find that there were some broken bars at one of the corners of the cell. There was some dirt underneath it that she could probably dig up to get out. Smiling as much as she could, Link broke the box that was sitting in front of the bars and started to dig. Once the hole was deep enough, she crawled under with ease and stood on the outside of the cell. Instinctively, she shook herself to get rid of the dirt, then paused, surprised. She hadn't even thought about shaking herself.

The Imp's giggle brought her out of her thoughts and she looked around, growing confused when she couldn't find her. Then something landed on her back, making her yelp in surprise and start running in circles, trying to dislodge it. 'Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!' she thought, eyes closed and bucked like a mad horse.

Until her ears were pulled, making her yelp once more and stop spinning. She looked over her shoulder and glowered at the Imp, who was laughing loudly and holding her ears as she sat on Link's back like she was a horse. "Ahahaha, you stupid mutt," she giggled, eyes closed as she grinned, showing off a fang Link hadn't noticed earlier. "I was beginning to wonder if I should just leave you here, but it appears I didn't have to. Now giddy-up!" she kicked Link's sides, making her eyes widen in slight pain. Her bones still ached. "There's someone you need meet, but we won't get to them if we linger around here any longer. Now," she pulled Link's left ear back to whisper into it, "I've held my end of the bargain, now you will listen to me. From now on you're going to be my servant, and you will do _everything_ I say. If you even think about disobeying me, I have my own little trick to get you going again," she summoned the same ball of magic from earlier, bringing it close to Link's eye so she could get full-view of it. She grinned as she clenched her hand into a fist, smothering the magic.

She let go of Link's ears and patted her shoulder, making the fur on Link's neck to bristle slightly. This Imp was really getting under her skin right now, but she kept reminding herself she had no choice. She had to escape this place and figure out what was going on. And if she had to do that with this annoying Imp, then so be it.

"Good thinking, Runt. My sentiment exactly," the Imp yawned.

Having wasted enough time, Link headed out, trotting down the hall of cells with her claws making clicking sounds every step. She slowly fell into a rhythm with each step, becoming slightly more adapt every several steps. She came to the door at the end and looked up at it, shocked. 'I didn't expect everything to be so...big.'

"Well what did you think, mutt?" the Imp rolled her eyes. "You're a beast now, everything will seem bigger to you."

Even if she was annoying, she was right. Getting used to this new perspective might take awhile. Hopefully not too long, though.

After trying to open the door, only to fail when she fell backwards. She had hoped she'd squish the Imp, but she was too smart and got off her back before that could happen. Then she proceeded to laugh, again, at Link as the Hylian-turned-wolf got back up. Well that way was out. She let her gaze fall onto the cell next to her, which had an open door and-was that a small hole? She quickly trotted over to it, crouching down a bit to see that there was a barred-up hole in the wall. This could be her way out!

"Wow, you can actually think? That's a shocker."

Once again ignoring her, she tried scratching at the bars, but couldn't find any weak spots.

"Mutt, look up," the Imp said simply. Link did so and saw a chain with a ringed handle above her her. "Pull the chain."

Link tilted her head slightly before readying herself. Without thinking, she jumped up and grabbed the ring in her mouth, her weight pulling down the chain. An old creaking sound made her ears twitch and she let the ring go, only to fall onto her back again, with the Imp safely hovering over her and smirking. "You need to work on your landing skills a bit more."

Link growled at her, trying to ignore the strange feeling of her throat vibrating. It was weird the first time, and it was no different for the second. She rolled to her paws and started crawling through the tunnel-like hole, finding it odd how this would be in a cell. Wherever she was, the security sucked.

She came out eventually and jumped off a small ledge, only for her nose to be assaulted by the foulest smell she ever hoped to come across. With her eyes watering, she dropped to her stomach and covered her nose with her paws, cringing. "Jeez, why did we have to end up in the sewer? Couldn't be, oh I don't know, a field of flowers or something? Man you humans are disgusting," the Imp was plugging her nose.

'At least I don't have to suffer the smell alone,' Link thought, then got kicked in the ribs.

"Remember I can still hear you. Hey, look," the Imp pulled Link's head up by her ear, pointing to the corner where a small, green flame was floating, "well that's a sight I expected to see, but not so soon. Okay listen up, you're a wolf now, so you're senses are increased significantly, particularly you're senses of smell and sight. If you go up to that 'flame' you see there, give it a sniff and you'll see what mysteries lie in front of you."

Sniff it? That was odd. Link wondered what that would do, thankful that the Imp stayed silent, and walked over to the flame. She sniffed it and jumped a foot in the air when she saw a human standing there, bent over onto his spear and wheezing for breath.

"They...they must be gone now, right?" he muttered to himself, shivering in his boots. He was wearing chainmail armour with armour plates over top of his chest, upper arms and thighs, and a helmet kept Link from seeing his face. On his armour were small shapes of triangles, but there was a strange green glow that surrounded him and made it hard to see what they were. Link blinked up at the man, barely coming to his knees, and felt her ears fall flat on her head. "Wah! What's there?!" he yelled, turning and bringing his foot towards Link's head.

She cringed and closed her eyes, expecting to get kicked, but felt a strange, almost numbing sensation pass through her. She peeked open her eyes and felt her heart rate increase when she saw the man's leg _inside her head_.

Link scrambled back with a scream, well, actually a howl, and hit the wall behind her, breathing heavily as pure shock ran through her veins for the seventh time that day. The Imp was floating above her, arms crossed as she rolled her eyes. Link's howl echoed through the sewer, making the guard jump again and point his spear right at her. She held her breath, waiting to get stabbed, but he never moved.

"Moron," the Imp said. "He can't see you or feel you. Just like you can't see or feel him. He's a spirit from the Light World, trapped here like this and only knowing a constant fear," she then grinned. "Makes for a cool story, don't you think? There's bound to be a lot more of these guys along the way, so check them out to see what they have to say. Who knows? You might find out where we are."

'I'll keep that in mind,' Link thought, getting back to her paws and shaking her head to clear it. All this 'mind reading' stuff was giving her a headache.

Once her mind stopped whirling, Link went the only way she could go, down the sewer. As much as the smell was getting to her, she had to tough it out or she'd never escape. And she could think of several other people she'd rather be stuck here forever with, and the imp wasn't one of them.

'Hey, Imp, what's you're name, anyway?' she asked. She might as well, right? If the Imp can hear her mind, she should ask as much as possible. But actually willing her thoughts to go to this Imp made her head hurt more than before.

"That's not important right now. We just need to get out of here and meet the person I mentioned before," she yawned. "Oh yeah, and you'll probably have to fight some things."

'How can I fight like this?'

"You've got claws and teeth. You figure it out. It can't be much different than usual."

'Other than the fact I'm walking on four paws?' a migraine made her stop walking and she cringed, closing her eyes.

"Man you're mind is weak. Not only can I hear you, but you get a headache after only thinking ten times? You need to work on that."

She didn't want the migraine to get worse, so Link just stopped thinking all together and kept walking along, making sure to breathe through her nose as little as possible. She found another 'Spirit Solder', but he didn't offer any advice other than strange monsters living here at the moment.

Link soon found one when it attacked her face. More out of instinct rather than thought, she snarled and snapped at the tentacle-bug, catching it in her mouth. She bit down on the bug and it burst into little particles, similar to the rectangles floating in the air. She then got a vile taste in her mouth and cringed, sticking her tongue out as if trying to get rid of the taste.

"You should get used to it," the Imp said casually. "You'll be killing things with your mouth now, after all. You can't stop to think about the taste when somethings coming up behind you to get you."

Link shook her head and walked down one of the many pathways, finding that spikes were standing in her way for whatever reason. How would she get through?

"Raise the water, moron. There should be a thing around here to do that much."

How could the Imp know that? Was it possible she had been here before?

"I have my ways," the Imp grinned roguishly.

Link ignored her and started looking around, finding more of the ringed chains hanging from random spots in the ceiling. After getting attacked by seven other tentacle-bugs, she finally pulled a chain that raised the water high enough for her to swim over the spikes.

When she was on the other side, she climbed back onto the side walkways and shook out her fur, yet again pausing to contemplate why she did that without thinking. The Imp hit her over the head, making her eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Quit stopping, mutt. We should be out of here soon," she said, then spotted bars blocking the way into a chamber. "Heh, have fun. You need to help yourself," she got off Link's back and went through the bars, waving at her 'sweetly'.

Link gritted her teeth. She had done all the work! This Imp was really driving her up the wall. Now more than ever Link hoped she wouldn't have to deal with the Imp once she met this mystery person.

-Ten minutes later-

Link shook herself after crawling through the short tunnel. Luckily it hadn't taken too long to figure out what to do. With no help from the Imp. Speaking of her, she hopped onto Link's back the moment they met up, but Link just sighed. Honestly she wasn't surprised.

She walked into the chamber and looked up, seeing an old, ruined staircase spiraling up the sides of the cylinder-shaped room. There were also ropes strung across different parts of the broken staircase and Link gulped, her ears pressing to her skull. She did _not_ want to cross those.

She started up the stairs, finding only a few steps later that there was a hole between the part she was standing on and the next. Even so, it was short and she could easily jump across. But when her front paws hit, the piece of stair crumbled under her weight and sent her into the water below. The annoying Imp was floating above the water, scowling at Link as she climbed out.

"You really are a moron. That's not how we're going to get up this thing," she said, her hands on her hips. Link growled lowly (she would have to stop doing that) and shook off the water, this time not caring. "Come on, I suppose I'll have to help you here."

When she got back to the spot, the Imp turned to her. "Now, I'm going to float on the other side of this rubble, and all you have to do is concentrate on me and me alone. Then let me do the rest of the work," she grinned, giving Link no sense of security or trust. But Link was at an impasse anyway. She could even feel how close she was to seeing this person the Imp mentioned. So, Link did what the Imp instructed, narrowing her eyes on her figure.

A tingling sensation crawled its way up her body and her muscles responded by leaping forward at a speed that should have been impossible. Link stumbled on her paws and leaned into the wall, the world spinning ever so slightly.

"Pft, you are such a light-weight to magic," the Imp scoffed.

Link's ears perked up and her eyes widened. She gulped and turned her head sharply to look at the Imp on her back. Magic? That had been magic?

"Yup. Magic, mutt. It's a thing I use often. Better get used to it," she winked, tugging Link's ear.

Link shivered, pulling her ear away from the Imp's hand. Her initial thought was that the Imp would use her fear to her advantage, but her second thought was perhaps the Imp was joking. Yeah, she wouldn't abuse Link's fear, right? As much as Link hated her, she had to give the imp the benefit of the doubt and believe she was just bluffing. There had to be some reason the imp stuck with her, right? Why else would she try to help Link out of here? Yeah. However unlikely it seemed, Link wanted to believe it full-heartedly.

"Keep thinking that, Runt," the Imp said with false hope.

Despite her words, and with the new mindset, Link continued up the stairs. She shivered and grew dizzy every time the Imp had to help her across a long gap (which was often), and the Imp would make fun of her at every turn she got. But Link still kept her new mindset, while still with the hope this would be over soon.

At one point, Link had to cross one of the ropes. She couldn't tare her eyes off the ground below her paws, but she found it odd how easy it was to cross the ropes. Well, maybe it helped that her paws were so small they could fit on the rope without any problem.

The Imp also had something to say about that, too. It seemed like every little thing Link did was comment worthy.

Finally, Link and the Imp reached the top of the stairs. By this point Link was exhausted, but she had to keep going. And it wasn't the Imp pushing her. She felt like she was close to something, perhaps someone, important. If she stopped now, her curiosity would kill her. So, with no other choice made by either herself or her hitchhiker, she kept trudging on, leaping up some pillars to get to an open door high above the ground. Why people would put it there was beyond her, but she found it convenient, seeing as she can't open doors any longer and the Imp just sat there.

They finally made it outside, but Link's smile quickly vanished when she saw it.

A large, sunset orange sky stretched on as far as she could see, navy blue clouds breaking the orange occasionally. And did she see stars twinkling in some places? Also the particles in the air were denser here, she didn't even have to concentrate to look at them. But they still gave her a headache.

"Ahh, aren't the clouds of Twilight lovely today?" the Imp said wistfully, closing her eyes and smiling. Link looked at her and was surprised to see the smile was sincere, filled with content happiness. This made Link smile. Her smile was wiped off her face when the Imp opened her eyes and snapped at her, "What are you looking at?"

She made no comment, but instead looked around. What was this stuff?

"No time to explain. You see that tower over there? That's our destination. Heh, can you figure out where we are, mutt?" she smirked.

Link looked around, seeing tall towers ahead and some houses down below. Wherever they were was huge, making Link feel very small. But she shook her head. She had to find out where this place was, not be overwhelmed by it. Well not yet anyway.

Link jumped off the ledge she was on and landed, rather ungracefully, on her stomach with a grunt. The Imp just sighed, running her hand down her face. Link was grateful she finally shut up and got up, walking on like it didn't happen.

Yet another Spirit Solder was here and Link sniffed him, catching the last few words of his monologue, "-What has happened to our beautiful Hyrule?"

Link's heart stopped completely and she sat down in shock. This place, succumbed to this dark world, was Hyrule Castle? The very place she was going to go to that day? What happened here indeed. How could something like this happen? Is this why the animals have been acting odd the last while? Could they sense this strange world overtaking the land they and many others called home? If she had left a few days earlier, would she have been eaten up like the solders and turned into mere spirits? Scenarios of what could have happened rushed through her mind, but were thoroughly kicked when the Imp smacked her up-side the head.

"You can have time to think about those things later," she was clearly irritated. "We need to get moving!"

Not wanting to risk losing her hearing, Link walked over to a wooden tower with a block in front of it. The block was easily a head taller than her if she was human, so being a wolf made it seem giant. However, the box was hollow inside and light enough to push forward, so she was able to use that to climb onto the 'tower' and jump off the other side.

A strange sound echoed above her head and she looked up to see a large black bird with a horn for a head and covered in red runes fly down. It was twice the size of a Kargarok and seemed to be blind, not that it needed eyes it seemed. It easily found where Link was without them.

She got into a fighting stance, her fur bristled in fear as her ears lay flat on her head. She felt like running, but something in the back of her mind told her that wasn't a smart idea. The bird lunged forward, smacking Link aside with its wing and almost sending her off the tower they were on. Her claws scraped on the stone and her back left paw lurched downwards, giving her a heart attack as she scrambled back onto solid stone. The Imp was unfazed, merely holding onto Link's ruff as she ran at the bird.

She jumped, much higher than normal, and clamped her teeth on the birds leg. It screeched and started to fly higher, shaking its leg to get Link off. Link, not knowing the danger she was in, let go and started falling backwards. Realizing her mistake, she looked over her shoulder at the ground, which was quickly rising up to meet her. The Imp abandoned her, floating safely far above, and she cringed, eyes closed as she waited for impact.

But instead of ground, she hit a strange, cushy fabric of vibrant colours and sunk into it, before it propelled her back into the air, howling all the way. Her howl came to a sudden stop when she hit a turret on the tower, her upper body on the top with her lower hanging off. She started falling back, but dug her claws into the stone, leaving behind claw marks as gravity threatened to take her back down. Then a large, sunset orange hand came over the turret and wrapped around her, lifting her up and dumping her on the stone. She groaned, rolling to her side and looking at her stomach. That would certainly bruise.

The same hand that saved her smacked her in the side, making her roll a meter before the Imp stopped her with an eerie teal glow. "You MORON!" The Imp yelled, the teal light tossing Link into the air and letting her drop back down. "Do you have any idea what you could have done to yourself? You could have been hurt, or worse killed! Who taught you how to use your brain? Did they not teach you physics at all?"

Link winced, getting to her paws shakily and, for once, feeling afraid of the Imp. It hadn't really occurred to her that the Imp wasn't bluffing with her magic. She looked down, ashamed and embarrassed as she scuffed her paw on the stone. 'I'm sorry-'

"Sorry isn't good enough!" she yelled, making Link wince. "Ugh," she ran her hands over her face. "Let's just go. I'm sick of these games."

The glowing hand, which was actually part of her hair, picked Link up, making her yelp, and the Imp flew over to their destination. This both terrified and annoyed Link. If the Imp could do this before, why didn't she?

She lazily dropped Link at the entrance to the tower, which turned out to be a window into a spiral staircase. Link dropped down into it, managing to land with only a stumble, and looked both ways before going right, up the staircase. The Imp was sitting quietly on her back, her arms crossed as she fumed over what happened. Link didn't think she cared that much.

"I don't care about you, Runt. I have my own reasons to help you," the Imp crossed her arms, looking away. "Just go into the room, already."

Link looked up at the door, finding that is was open a tad, and pushed her head on it. When it was open enough, she took a tentative step inside, pausing when she saw a cloaked figure standing by the window across the room. Her ears plastered to her head when the figure lifted their head slightly and turned, locking eyes with Link. Instead of feeling afraid or shy, Link felt calm. Usually when she met someone new, she would avert her gaze and kick the ground, but seeing this person's eyes gave her some sense of safety. Odd.

"Midna, you're back sooner than I expected," the cloaked figure said, her voice soft.

So that was the Imp's name.

"So you remembered me after all. I should feel lucky," Midna smirked.

"Did you find who you were looking for?"

"All I could find was this runt," Midna flicked Link's ear, making Link glare at her in annoyance. "She's not what I had in mind, but she'll have to do for now."

Link didn't like the sound of that.

"What's you're name?" the figure asked, sitting down on her knees as Link came over slowly. It was so strange looking at someone from this height.

"Huh, I never asked that," Midna mused. "She won't be able to tell you, anyway. She's mute as a mouse."

'Then tell her my name's Link,' she thought, cringing when a minor headache hit. She would need to stop thinking so much.

Midna quirked an eyebrow before bursting out laughing, making Link wince and grit her teeth. "Link? What kind of stupid name is that? That's neither a girl's or a real name!"

"I think it suits you," the figure said, smiling at the wolf as she looked back at her. "And you don't have to act as communication, Midna. I can hear her just fine."

"'You what?'" Link and Midna asked at the same time, then glared at each other.

The figure's smile grew, although it was hard to see. "I can hear you. You have a strong mind, but you need to work on your abilities. There are many people who would give anything to hear another person's thoughts."

"That's what I keep telling the mutt," Midna rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I thought it would be fair for her to figure out what's going on. I mean, she was pulled into this mess already. Don't you think you owe her an explanation as to how you doomed you're kingdom?"

Link frowned at that. That was a bit harsh, why would it be this lady's actions that Hyrule into trouble? "Thank you for thinking that," Link jumped and looked up at the figure's face, "but Midna's right. It is my fault this happened. A few days ago, Hyrule Castle was invaded by an army of unbeatable beasts. No matter what my solders did, the monsters kept reviving, so long as one was alive. During the midst of the fight, my closest solders had kept me from interfering, afraid I would be killed if I fought. But when a solder fell, I felt less and less helpless and useless. I knew I had to do something, but my rash actions were stopped when a tall man entered the Throne Room. His name was Zant, but that was all that I got from him on who or where he was from. He didn't give any reason why he was fighting us, all he did was give me a proposal-"

'So a guy took over and asked you to marry him? That's stupid.' Midna hit Link over the head for the comment, scowling.

"Not that kind of proposal, idiot."

The figure sighed- did Link hear a small laugh come from her?- and shook her head. "Yes, it wasn't that idea. It was a bargain."

'Oh.'

"May I continue?"

'Sorry,' Link smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you. His proposal was of two things, either I would surrender to his army, or all my people would die. I was in a dilemma. I knew we couldn't fight back, we would all die, and I knew that if I didn't drop my sword, innocent lives would be ended. As much as it made my heart ache, I dropped my weapon, signaling my surrender. Zant had bowed, and I could hear his smile in his voice when he congratulating me for ruining the lives of my people. Soon a dark shroud consumed the land, bathing it in an eternal nightmare for my people, who are now only spirits in this realm of the Twilight. They don't know what happened, all they know is a constant fear that lingers in their dreams. But, even though the kingdom has been taken over, I still remain it's ruler and Princess." Link's eyes widened as the figure took off her hood. "My name is Zelda."

Link's heart leaped to her throat, threatening to choke her at that moment. The Princess? The one she was going to deliver the sword to? She had pale skin, long chestnut brown hair and eyes as blue as sapphires. But neither of those things shocked Link the most out of the last. She felt like she _knew_ her. She felt, for whatever reason, that she knew Zelda, not just by name, but personally. Something inside her was screaming 'I know her! I know her!' but she couldn't understand how that could be. She had never been to Hyrule Castle before.

"Why are you sad?" Midna asked, sounding a bit offended. "We find it lovely in the Twilight, is it really all that bad?"

"Midna, Hyrule can't live like this. You're people have developed to your environment, Hyrule's crops will fail, the river's are dried up, the mountain is no longer safe. The land will slowly die in this world, despite it's beauty. Link," Zelda turned her attention to her, "I need your help. You have to clear Hyrule of Twilight. And only you two can do it. Midna can live in this realm, and you were transformed into a wolf instead of a spirit or monster. Why that is, I don't know, but you're the only ones I can trust. Go back to the light world and rid Hyrule of Twilight. I don't have any more time to explain, the guard will make is daily rounds soon, and if he finds you he'll kill you. Can I trust you with this?"

'But I can barely fight!' Link thought, willing herself to be heard. 'I don't know what I need to do!'

Zelda placed a hand on her head to calm her down, a sad smile on her face. "I understand your thoughts, but you must overcome your fears. Now go, both of you. All of Hyrule counts on your success."

Link gulped and nodded, turning to the door and trotting out. Before she left completely, she looked back at Zelda, trying to figure out why she was familiar, but was taken out of her thought by Midna, who kicked her sides. "Come on, we're wasting time."

Right. That. Link nodded and ran down the stairs, but tripped on a step and rolled down a few. Midna sighed, running a hand down her face as she floated over Link. "You klutz." The door at the bottom squeaked open and a small beam of light lit up the end, making Link jump to her feet and back up. Midna picked her up and flew to the window, letting her go once they were outside.

Link stopped to look around. With the new-found knowledge that this was the Castle, she felt a sad. The people here didn't even know what was happening, yet they couldn't do anything. She felt Zelda's annoyance about not being able to do anything and feel useless. Was that how the citizens felt? And this world, this Twilight...

She looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath in. How could a world that was so similar to a sunset feel so...bad? It should feel beautiful, serene, peaceful. Yet the birds and monsters that are about say all there needs to know. And who exactly is that Zant guy Zelda mentioned? Why did he take over Hyrule with shadow?

"Well finally," Midna sighed, bringing Link out of her thoughts. She hopped off the window and onto the roof, stepping carefully towards the floating Imp. "You know what's going on, and that like, so I suppose I can take you back to the light world," she looked over her shoulder slyly, an odd gleam in her eye. "But aren't you forgetting something?" she turned to her, tapping her chin with a grin. Then she spun, turning into the screaming forms of Colin and Ilia.

Link's eyes went wide. She had completely forgotten about them! With the different emotions she felt in the last few hours, it wasn't surprising, but she felt guilty for forgetting her friends. "You want to save them, right?" Link shivered. It was eerie hearing Ilia's voice coming from this Imp. "Then I guess I can help you. But, my offer from before still stands. You will be my servant, and do whatever I say or do without complaint. And don't worry, I'll know when you complain," Midna turned back into herself and put her hands on her hips, smiling down at Link. "So let's go back. I'm sure there's a little village that misses you."

Before Link could think properly, Midna spun around, disappearing into the sky as a numb yet tingly feeling grew over Link. She became woozy and looked down with a heavy head, but her tired eyes widened when she saw her paws dissolve into square particles.

Gery: Yay! I did it! And this is just about 20 pages :D Coming from Silent Courage, it's a bit hard to get the feeling of old, shy, cowardly Link and mean, bossy, moody Midna. Hopefully I made their interactions believable and consistent taking SC into consideration. I'll need to re-read Silent Courage just to make sure I put in the parts that I mentioned in that. So yeah, I liked how this turned out. I think my favorite part was the interactions between Link and Midna, seeing as Link doesn't have any mental walls yet and can't control her thoughts, whether their indirectly thought or not. Oh and yes, I changed the whole 'Ilia getting mad over an injury' thing. I think that, really, she wouldn't get overly mad at Link. She should have heard all the details already from Bo, or even the other adults, seeing how big an issue it was. And I thought I'd give them a reason to go to the spring together, so that Ilia could talk back to Talo seeing as Link can't. Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! See ya!


	4. Clever Title

To Invaderkimofexorcismandalchemy: Yeah, I did. Thought I'd change a bit up. Changing into an entirely different species (and one that is a quadruped to boot) would be very hard to do, so yeah, making it so Link had trouble with it was one of the top things on my mind during the chapter. Midna comes off to me as the type of person to misjudge people and decide her thoughts on them on the first encounter. At the beginning it's clear she thinks Link is incompetent and useless. At least that's the vibe I get. And thank you!

To Lady Fai: Thank you!

Gery: I'm saying this here and now, I can't think of an actual title for this chapter for the life of me

Nura: Do you need one for each chapter?

Gery: For this yes

Nura: *rolls eyes* Gery doesn't own Legend of Zelda

Gery: Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Clever Title

Link's wooziness made her collapse once her feet met the ground. She lifted her heavy head to look around. Her ears and tail perked up when she saw she was in Ordona's Spring. The birds were silent and the wind was dead, giving the usually beautiful scenery and eerie, almost forbidden feeling. She took a step back, her ears flat on her head and her tail between her legs.

Wait. It couldn't be...she looked down at her feet in panic. And yelped when she saw she was still a Wolfos. Or wolf as Zelda had called her. But that didn't matter right now. Why was she still like this? Shouldn't she had changed back to normal after entering her own world again?

It was odd, too. Instead of black and grey, her fur was more brown and tan with a green tinge in the dimming light of day. Did that have something to do with the difference in the worlds? Or was it just the light that made her appear differently. She shook her mind from the thought. She had to get back on task and figure out why she's still like this.

"Clueless mutt," Midna's voice echoed around the Spring, making Link turn in circles to find her. Where did she go? "You didn't think you'd be changing back to normal so soon, did you? How silly. That won't happen for a while. But I suppose there is a way. And I suppose I could tell you, but I don't really feel like it," she giggled and Link could hear her voice fading slightly. "See you later!"

What?! That Imp wasn't seriously abandoning her, was she? She thought they were working together. But even as Link looked around, a new light shone on the situation. She grinned to herself as she made on last look around. The Imp was gone. Awesome! She wouldn't have to deal with her!

With a slight hop in her step, Link walked over to the Spring's entrance, not noticing the strange shape of her own shadow. When she stepped out of the Spring, the Imp's voice returned, making her jump. "So what now?" she asked, appearing in front of Link as a shadow. "I guess we could go right for the wall to the Twilight, but that would be stupid. After all, only someone from the Twilight can get you in and it'd be suicide going in without some sort of weapon. Unless you want to get caught by the Twilight Messengers again."

The what? Was that the mask creature that got her last time?

Midna pat her head harshly, making her grit her teeth. "That's exactly what it was. Good girl for noticing," she said with mock praise. "But really, those Messengers are deadly beasts. You can't handle them well without a weapon. So that's what I'll need. Looks like you need to stick with me to get to your friends," Midna smirked, crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head. "Too bad, since you want to get rid of me so soon."

Link quickly became sheepish. So the Imp had heard all that? Oops.

"Whatever. Our first priority is to find a weapon. Surely there's some place around here with one, right?" The first thing that came to Link's mind was the sword Rusl made. She wasn't sure how well it would do up against those Messenger beasts, but against Bokoblins and such it was probably better than her old wooden sword. It was the best option at the moment.

Midna rubbed her temple with a scowl. "Jeez, can you think any louder? Well go find this sword or whatever. I wonder if you can beg for it?" she giggled before entering Link's shadow. This made Link take a few steps back in shock. Now she noticed the image of the Imp on her shadow's back. She found it weird yet fascinating that Midna could do that. Was she literally a shadow?

Those questions would have to wait. Much like other questions that day. At the moment Link had to find that sword and get it somehow. So without any further delay, Link headed back to Ordon. She absently wondered if Rusl and the other adults had tried to search for her and the others. To them, they vanished without a trace.

Link winced, suddenly realizing that she hadn't even attempted to go and get help. In the heat of the moment she had been so worried that she charged blindly towards the bridge. Did the adults think she was taken too? Did they have any clues as to where Colin or Ilia were?

These thoughts made her run the rest of the way. She would have run right to Rusl's if it weren't for the two green goblins standing around her home. She skidded to a stop and ducked behind a bush, watching the Bokoblin-like creatures patrol around her yard as if they owned it. What were they doing here?

She decided she didn't want to know. With still not being used to this new body, Link stayed in the shadows and snuck past the goblins. She didn't feel like fighting, seeing as the last time she fought she fell off a roof. Walking on four feet was still very awkward.

She went unnoticed by the goblins and hid in a bush at the entrance of the village. It was pitch dark now and the only sources of light came from the houses. It was oddly silent and lonely, making Link give a small whine. She started at the sound. Looks like that was another thing she'd have to get used to. She shook her head and watched the dark village, feeling as if she was an intruder.

But this was her home, right? She shouldn't feel like a monster, even if she looked like one. Rusl was sure to recognize her. Maybe she could somehow get his help. That seemed like the best choice, so Link walked down the path towards Rusl's house. She didn't know why, but she got onto her stomach and peeked around the bend. Uli was sitting on the porch, gazing out at the river. She just sat there in a distraught silence. She must be so worried for Colin.

Rusl was sitting on the steps, his head in his hands. Link's eyes widened when she saw his right hand, leg and head all bandaged. What had hurt him? She stayed on her stomach as she slowly made her way over to them. She was hoping that they would know it was her and wouldn't attack.

That quickly turned to false hope when Uli gasped at the sight of her. Rusl was on his feet in an instant, holding a sword and torch out. Link flinched and looked at him, wide-eyed.

'Rusl, please. It's me,' she wished for him to read her eyes. To know. He took a step towards her and she scrambled back three, her front left paw off the ground. Her ears were plastered to her head and she was trying to get her tail to wag, but it wouldn't listen to her. Rusl then swung his sword at her head, making her howl and turn tail. She bolted from the house and ran right to the river, swimming all the way to the end where a small ledge of ground sat. Her wet fur made her feel heavy but she managed o get onto the ledge.

She panted and looked back towards the house, feeling close to tears. Did wolves cry? Because if they can't she wished she could. With a disheartened whine, she lay down on her stomach with her paws over her face.

"You idiot," Midna emerged from her shadow. "You're a beast. A monster. You didn't think that man would accept you with open arms, did you?"

Link sniffed and nodded, still whining.

"Than you're an even bigger moron than I first thought," the Imp crossed her arms and turned her head away before sinking into Link's shadow once more.

_Out of all the people I could be stuck with it had to be a spineless __idiot__,_ she thought bitterly.

It took a few minutes for Link to calm down enough to think. The Imp was right. How could have she been so stupid? Rusl was always a bit paranoid when it came to unknown beasts roaming the night. She should have remembered that, but her mind was still muddled and confused.

Sucking it up as best she could, Link stood and shook herself to get dry. She had tried not to, but instinct took over her mind yet again. Would this be a reoccurring thing? Could she not fight the beast inside her?

She shook her head. She couldn't focus on that now. She had to get the sword somehow, even if it meant breaking into her old home. But where could she get a shield? She wasn't sure if Jangle was making a new one or not, but it was her best bet for now. So, without further delay, she swam back to the other side of the pond.

After climbing back onto solid ground, Link stuck to the dark shadows as she snuck towards Jangle's house across one of the small bridges. Link spotted Bo and Jangle talking just outside the latter's house. "So about the shield!" Bo said loudly, making Jangle hush him up. What Jangle was afraid of, Link could only guess.

Although they would have another reason to fear if they spotted her, so she stuck close to the ground and moved into the tall grass, getting closer until she could hear them. "Okay, so you know the plan?"

"You come to my home with the shield, while I go get the sword from Rusl. We need to find the children-" Link's ears perked up in alarm. Were the other kids taken too? "-and to do that we need weapons. The shield I made isn't quite finished, but it'll have to do for now. Rusl got hurt pretty bad from those monsters over by Link's house, so he's out of order for the moment. We gotta rely on our own wit and courage."

"Of course," Bo nodded and they shook on it, their knuckles turning white in the traditional Ordonian way.

Link became more troubled. Not only were Ilia and Colin missing, but so were the rest of the kids. Talo, Malo, Beth. Just gone? They must have been kidnapped by those goblins while playing in Link's yard. Being so far away from the adults, they didn't have anyone to protect them.

She winced, her ears falling to her skull. How could someone kidnap kids? Who would do that?

It suddenly dawned on Link that she _hadn't_ been taken. At least by the goblins. They had knocked her over the head, but they didn't take notice of her after that? Did they simply choose to ignore her? How strange. But she supposes she's lucky. She at least knows what happened and, once she turned back to normal, she could tell Ordon what really happened.

'Tell? Ha. Since when have I been thinking like I can talk?' she wondered.

Midna, still hiding in her shadow, grinned. Those two bumbling buffoons weren't going to leave any time soon and they didn't have all the time to wait, either. They would have to get rid of the buffoons to steal the shield. She materialized behind Link, making sure to keep hidden, and kicked her in the hindquarters.

Link yelped and stood up fast, freezing the moment she saw Bo and Jangle staring at her with wide eyes. A moment of tense silent followed, before Bo and Jangle tripped over themselves to run from Link. She looked behind her and scowled at Midna, who was giggling into her hands to stifle herself. What good that did. "You should have seen the look on your face when they saw you! Ha ha! Classic," she wiped a tear from her eye, still giggling, and crossed her arms. "Well, the pathway is mostly cleared now. Now we just need to get in. Any ideas, mutt?"

Link looked up at the windmill. It was a tall building, the tallest in Ordon, and simply walking through the front door was a no-go. But maybe she could get in with the windmill's help. The moment the thought crossed her mind, she dashed it. She didn't want to travel by that stupid magic spell more than she had to.

"Too bad for you. Because that's what we're doing," Midna grinned and sunk back into Link's shadow. "Now get a move on, runty. We're burning nighttime."

'That won't be the only thing burning soon,' Link growled lightly as she thought that. By now, even despite the weirdness, she chose not to worry about growling. It was the least of her worries, after all.

"Empty threat," Midna sang.

Link's eye twitched and she took in a deep breath. She could do this. She raised a freaking _dragon_ for Din's Sake. She can deal with this Imp.

As Link stepped near a torch in the middle of the village, a voice yelled from above, making her jump and tense. She turned her gaze up to see Hanch standing on one of the stone pillars, glaring down at her with malice. That honestly scared Link. Hanch was _never_ bitter or angry. "You fowl beast! You took my daughter! G-give her back or else!" he blew into Hawk Grass, making Link's ears and tail drop. The hawk flew down obediently. "Get that beast!" he pointed at Link and she yelped as she bolted, the hawk flying close behind her.

The hawk chased her for only a short time before going back to Hanch, who waited for her return. She collapsed onto her stomach and panted, more tired from adrenaline than anything else. She heard a small voice and opened her eyes to see a familiar cat looking at her, with part annoyance and part sympathy. "Stupid dog. You didn't think you could waltz in here and attack the village again, did you?"

What shocked Link the most was that he could talk. She had never considered animals to be that inelegant.

"I don't care what you do to the Master's Husband, I have never liked him, but your kind took my Master's daughter, and that hurt my Master. You had better give her back!" the cat yowled, back arched and fur bristled.

Link blinked before giving a small snort as a laugh. She got to her paws and looked down at the hissy cat, grinning as wide as a wolf could. A growl slowly rose in her throat, making her somehow-working vocal cords rumble and vibrate. She let out a loud bark, right into the cat's face, and he screamed before running off, his brave valor gone as the wind.

Link burst out into a wolfish laugh, rolling onto her back with her forelegs resting up against her stomach and chest. Her tail was wagging as well, but she didn't care to pay attention to the extra appendage. She had been wanting to do something to that cat for so long, and finally the moment arrived!

Midna came out of her shadow and crossed her arms, frowning in annoyance down at her. "Shut up, will you? Do you want to alert the entire village?"

Oops. She had forgotten. Getting up rather sheepishly, Link took a quick look around. Luckily no one had heard her.

With all that out of the way, she now had a knew problem. She can't jump onto the windmill if Hanch is guarding the pillar.

"Maybe not, but you can sneak up on him," Midna smirked. "We can get you onto the roof and you can scare him of."

Link looked over to Hanch. It wasn't a bad plan, but she felt a bit guilty just thinking about scaring him. He was a kind man, despite getting scared easily. Link could sympathize, as she certainly wasn't the bravest soul in Hyrule either. But this had to be done. She had to get back into the Twilight and she needed Midna's help. And Midna needed weapons. Why someone with magic needed weapons was beyond her.

Link crawled back into the village, looking around from the entrance. The only way she could scare Hanch was if she got herself behind him. That left only one option. She looked up at the roof of Sera and Hanch's house/shop. 'Uh, Midna?' a migraine hit her hard as she focused her thought to the Imp. It was unbearable but she had to ask for help.

"Mutt, listen closely," Midna appeared leaning against her neck. When and how she got there without Link noticing was a mystery in itself. "Your mental walls are crap. I can hear you whether you think your thoughts or not. And I was already thinking of getting you up there before you even thought your thought."

Link gave her a confused look, tilting her head slightly to the side. Midna smirked and floated to the rooftop. "Well? Coming or not?"

Link shook her head and trotted over to the base of the shop. She shivered when Midna teleported her and wobbled a bit once she landed. The roof was uneven and made it hard for her to stand on in this new body. With careful steps, she walked around the roof and jumped onto the stone pillar, landing behind Hanch. To scare him, she let out a short bark and he turned, screaming loudly as he dive-bombed into the water.

Link's heart raced. She didn't have much time before the other adults came, so she had to do this quickly. She allowed Midna to teleport her to the windmill than the roof and she jumped into the main room of the house. Lucky for her no one was around.

Midna ran her hand down her face. If someone had been in here when the mutt had jumped, this would have all been for nothing.

Where was the shield? Link searched all around, checking under the beds, table and even the rug. Midna couldn't stand it and came out, forcing Link's head to look at the upper floor. "How about there?" she muttered bitterly as Link grew sheepish. Midna didn't even bother to teleport Link, she simply picked her up and dumped her in front of the shield.

It was small, about as big as Midna's head, and had a rough design of an Ordonian Goat's horns and face. There were several places that weren't quiet sanded down and a few splinters here and there, but it would have to fit the bill for the moment. Link stood on her hind legs with her paws on the wall, stretching her body to try and get the shield but it was too high.

She heard voices outside the door and, in a panic, knocked her head into the wall two times, knocking the shield down. She picked it up in her mouth and jumped out the window, landing in the water with a splash. After swimming ashore and hiding in a bush, she put the shield down and panted, letting her heart-rate return to normal. That had been close. Hopefully no one noticed her streak across the village in a matter of seconds.

"Like it's that hard. This place is the size of a large house."

Link decided to ignore Midna for now and picked the shield up again. She turned her head awkwardly and put it on her back, shifting her back and shoulder blades to make the shield stay. It was so light she could barely feel it.

Well that was one item down. Now she just needed to steal the sword and be on her way. She winced slightly at the thought of 'steal'. It felt wrong to steal from the people who raised her, but she had little choice on the matter.

Something in Link seemed to die down, as she slowly started to get a bit drowsy as she snuck back to Rusl's house. All the excitement and discoveries were falling to the back of her mind. She wondered for a moment if this was just a dream, but then rammed head-first into the bend. Well she wasn't dreaming. Grumbling, she looked at the house again and found Rusl gone. He must be looking for her.

Link gulped and ran across the path. She skidded to a stop at the edge of the river and stayed still for a few moments, holding her breath. When no one looked over the bank, she walked towards the back of the house where she knew had a hole. It looked like Rusl had filled it in with dirt to keep it from getting bigger, so she would have to dig inside.

Her movements were slowed and her eyes drooped slightly. With her legs half-way through the dirt, her head sagged and she closed her eyes for a second. That second was destroyed when Midna tugged her tail, making her head jerk up and almost hit the wall. "You can't sleep yet! We need that sword!" she whispered harshly, still tugging Link's tail.

Link nodded and finished digging, coming up near the table of the main floor. She listened for any signs of noise, but heard nothing. She slowly stepped away from the hole and looked around, searching high and low for the sword. As luck would have it, it was set on the couch. Link's tail wagged as she picked it up, looking around to make sure no one had seen her. They hadn't.

Link quickly left the house and stayed in the shadows, feeling a heavy weight of guilt in her gut as she snuck away. The shield on her back and the sword in her mouth had so much work put into them by two of the men of her village. She's stealing from those who cared about her. She hoped she would be able to apologize once she returned to normal.

Her eyes drooped again when she got to her yard. She stopped on the spot and yawned widely, letting the sword drop to the ground. She can't remember the last time she was so tired. As she finished yawning, she lazily gazed around her yard, not hearing footsteps behind her.

Her ears flicked and she spun around to find Rusl, Bo and Jangle were standing at the gates of the village. They hadn't noticed her yet, but it wouldn't take them long if she didn't get out of there. She snatched up the sword and, as quietly as she could, backed away from the men. She hadn't noticed before, but they were giants to her.

Her rump bumped into the sign in front of her house and she cringed as the sign fell and clattered loudly on a rock. Rusl's eyes shot to her spot and she stayed frozen, too scared to run right away. Rusl unsheathed his sword and ran at her, making her legs move. Without thinking, she ran through his legs, tripping him in the process, and pivoted on her paws. She leaped over Rusl and sprinted towards the Spirit Spring, whimpering behind the sword.

When she got to the Spring, she made a B-line to the right, diving into a bush and turning on her stomach to watch the gate. Her heart pounded and her breathing was short as she waited.

She heard the men talk and made herself smaller when Rusl and Bo entered the Spring, but let herself relax when they left. "It must be gone by now. Damn, it had the sword we were supposed to deliver to the Castle." Link cringed Rusl called her an 'it'.

"We can try to look for it tomorrow, Rusl. In the meantime, you need to get some rest," Bo said, putting a hand on Rusl's shoulder.

Rusl nodded. Bo left first with Jangle, who was muttering about his shield. Rusl stayed behind for a few moments, fists clenched as he looked down at the water. "I swear to the Goddesses I'll find you all. Please be safe."

Link stayed where she was, whining. Half the village was missing and now she came and made things worse by stealing. She wished Rusl would let her comfort him, but he would just attack her.

When Rusl left, Link let herself fall to sleep before her head hit her paws.

-Midna's Third POV-

Midna scowled at her. They had just gotten the sword and shield and here they were wasting time. She floated above Link and kicked her side, but Link just rolled over to her back, seeming unfazed. Midna smirked to herself. Link forgot to take off the shield, so at least she can face that morning pain when she woke.

The Imp sat on a rock, legs and arms crossed. She gazed around the spring with distaste. Even at night it didn't feel like home. It was too bright even without the moon. How could these Light Dwellers stand it? The light burned her eyes and made her skin itch, yet they didn't seem bothered by it. She wondered for a moment how her home was doing, but shook her head to forget about it. It was her fault it was like that.

Her fist clenched and she closed her eyes. If she had been stronger, none of this would have happened.

_At least I have someone to suffer along with me_, she thought, looking back at Link. She had never loathed someone as much as she loathed that spineless moron. Everything that mutt did made her want to pull her hair out. The clumsy, loud footsteps, the stupid and slow ideas, and the inability to keep her thoughts to herself. Midna rubbed her temples at the thought. She didn't want to show any weakness but being able to hear just about every thought that passed through Link's head caused her to have a migraine. _That's the next thing I'm going to get her to do. It could be a way to strike up a bargain; I teach her how to control her thoughts and she gets me what I want. If I'm lucky I can make it sound like it's __for her benefit and not mine__._

She nodded at her idea and lied down on the rock, putting her arms behind her head. She watched the sky for a few moments before noticing an abnormally black spot above the Spring. Her eyes narrowed when she realized what it was. Even here too? He would stop at nothing to use her people to cover this land in darkness. All she could hope for was that she didn't have to see her people get killed.

_If it's because of that mutt that they die, I will strangle her._

Gery: And I leave you with that happy thought ^_^ So they have the sword and shield now, and we head on further into the fun part of the game! Sorry if his chapter is a bit plain and boring and I hope I made Link's internal conflict believable. I mean really, if you had to sneak into your house at night because your family would hurt you if they saw you and had to steal from them, you'd be pretty guilty and scared too. And I made Link bark at a cat instead of getting help from him. Anyway, next chapter cool stuff happens :D See ya!


End file.
